Demons
by SmittenKitten143
Summary: Buttercup is haunted by her past while her sisters lead seemingly happy and normal lives. Well as normal as it can be for a former Powerpuff girl. Will her past catch up with her or will she destroy herself before it gets the chance?
1. Chapter 1

I lie awake wondering when my tears will stop. I never did like crying or how it made one feel. Lately mine has been more than a sunken heart. Lately it's been a void in my chest yet there is weight to the feeling as if it could crush me. It's almost laughable, I'm the toughest fighter yet I'm being defeated by a feeling so easily or lack thereof. The tears will stop soon and then I will wish that I could cry instead. Numbness is usually preferable but not like this. Not when there is this foreboding feeling that lies beneath the façade of numb.

Numb

Numb

Numb

Is this why I pick fights?

To feel something other than nothing? I'd rather get a punch to the gut than feel as if my heart is being ripped from my chest. My phone lights up and I glance that way. Nothing but some messages from my sisters telling me how they are doing, half way across the world. It was my choice to leave, I enjoy my own space and separation from my sisters. It gives me a chance to stand out and yet here I am going through an episode. Locked safely away in my room while my apartment rots from months of neglect. I'm not sure what triggered me this time but it's awful

But do you know what's worse?

Having no reason to feel this way.

To feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. There isn't too much crime fighting anymore so what pressure is on me?

None, just myself constantly looking over my shoulder to see who's hiding in the shadows. We've defeated our biggest threats when we were younger yet I feel as if something is…..missing.

Something will always be missing when I feel this way. Regardless of if he lived or not, this demon will always haunt me no matter how I feel. No matter how content, free or happy I am. A shadow will forever stand in the corner, watching my every move until one day I finally crack and I do what it's been whispering for me to do.

To

End

It.

To enjoy the sweet embrace of nothingness.

Yet it knows if I succumb to its request it will have nothing to feed off of. So every now and again it relinquishes control over my life. Let's me live how I want only to crush me once more. Every peak brings a valley and for my demon, a feast.

I hear a knock on my apartment door. If I ignore it long enough it will go away. But the knocking persists. It causes me to stir enough to rise. I remove the blankets from my body and my stench causes my nose to crinkle. I have to act semi-okay to answer this door. I pull my matted hair into a swift bun and spray myself with perfume before I find myself standing in the foyer. The knocking has stopped and for a moment I think the person of interest has left. Almost as if it senses that I am closer than before the knocks come heavier, harder. Practically breaking the door in.

I open without checking the peep hole and I am met with something out of the ordinary.

A tall dark shadow stands in the door way, hand raised as if to bang again.

With

Glowing

Burning

Green

Eyes.

Eyes I haven't seen since we exterminated those pests.

I slam the door shut.

This is nothing but another demon to haunt me.


	2. Chapter 2

"I feel fine." I lie, the shadow leans close, its breath hot on my ear. It's whispering and making it hard to hear what Blossom is saying.

"What I'm sorry say again." She sighs, agitated and repeats herself. This time I hear her.

"Bubbles and I are going to fly out there soon." My heart drops as I survey my dank apartment. Months' old trash is piled high in the corners of my living room.

" **Don't forget the dishes in the sink, Butterbabe**." It uses _his_ voice now and it makes my stomach twist. I swallow hard, palms sweating as I stare at the cloud of gnats hovering over half eaten meals in the sink. I don't really remember the last time I ate. " **Eight weeks ago**."

"Blossom, what, When are you coming out here?" I try to keep the bite out of my voice but it doesn't work.

"I told you in a few days Remember?" Again the agitated tone, "Are you okay? You've been spacey lately."

I feel the words clawing up my throat. They sit on the tip of my tongue.

Tell her.

Tell her!

" **Don't you dare. Imagine how** ** _weak_** **you'll look. How fragile you'll seem**." A cold hand wraps tightly on my shoulder.

"I've just been busy with this writing project." Another lie, I haven't written a piece in over a year. I hear her pull in air to retort but I hear her work phone ping in the background.

"Oh I gotta go…." I can almost hear the gears in her head working, "Something….odd has come up. I'll fill you in later."

Silence sits between us.

"I love you." She adds, "Take care of yourself."

" **Does she really**?"

"I love you too." I say over his voice. His damn husky voice. I spin around towards it to scold but it dissipates with a laugh. With _his_ laugh. Talking to Blossom pulls me back to the present, well somewhat. For now it has retreated to the shadows and in this moment I realize how dark my apartment is. I rip the curtains open just to realize that it's midnight. The moon shines bright, hanging low in a yellow glow over the city. I swallow, taking this opportunity to clean the space.

Hopefully it will help me clear my head.

I clean quickly and it follows, close but out of arms reach. I do not like its new form. Every now and again I glance its way, clenching my jaw hating what it reminds me of. Soon my apartment is clean while I am filthy. I make my way to the bathroom and stare at my reflection.

" **Uglier than before**." It comments from behind.

I snarl at it in the mirror before assessing how badly my hair has become. I was growing it out.

One would think for the hell of it.

But truly it was out of laziness. With X in our systems hair grows quickly and mine is hitting the back of my thighs.

Even with it as matted as bad as it is. I lift the scissors with shaky hands.

" **Don't slip**." It laughs but I ignore it. I chop with confidence, instantly I feel as if a weight as been lifted. I continue to chop before I know it my hair is how it was when I was 18.

A semi-perfect short pixie cut.

I smile at my reflection.

My skin was only just starting to turn.

Exhaustion haunting my features.

I turn on the shower to scalding hot, stepping in without fear. I use what little power I have left to put a ring of energy around the pipe to the shower head. The water comes out even hotter and I relish the burning feeling.

I breathe in the steam greedily and wash away months' worth of sweat. I scrub until my skin resembles a steamed lobster before exiting the cascade of lava hot water. It isn't long before my stomach growls loudly.

I dress quickly and leave through my apartment's giant window. I float to the alley next to the complex. The street is loud with voices, even at this hour the city buzzes under the stars.

I meld in with the people here easily. Everyone has raven dark hair my only difference from them is my jade green eyes and tanned skin. I pull my hood over my head making my way to my favorite 24/7 pizza joint.

I order six. Cheese, Pepperoni, Supreme, and four random. I chow down finishing all six in less than an hour and order four more. I scarf them down even faster and get a large soda to go.

The cherry coke tickles my tongue, I give my eyes a chance to roam the crowd. It follows closely. Whispering about how none of these people could ever care about me and that the only fame I had was out of obligation.

What it doesn't know is that I don't give a shit why I had fame.

It goes on while I think of their life stories and wonder what kind of families they have to go home to. If any. Not much has changed in seven months.

Suddenly my eyes catch something. A figure is taller than normal in the crowd. The people here are roughly the same height, sure there is always an outliner but none have every seemed to tower over these people. I keep my eyes trained on the figure and trail it. The man, I'm assuming man by the short hair and height, begins to go where the crowd thins. He starts to look over his shoulder but my phone blares from my pocket and I turn into a random convenience store so my cover isn't blown.

"What the hell is it Bubbles?" I snarl and I hear her shrink away from the receiver.

"Sorry did I wake you? I know you've been having a hard time sleeping. I was calling to tell you some good news but it can wait." She whimpers and I swallow the anger.

"No you didn't wake me, sorry I was absorbed in writing an article. What's up?"

" **Liar**." I wave my hand at it, going deeper into the store.

"Are you sure it's okay?" She asks, I select a few snacks to fuel me for tonight's all-nighter. I have sudden inspiration to dig up some information and write.

"Yes I'm sure."

"Well I got that job, the one with the BIG fashion industry in New York." Bubbles doesn't sound as excited as she should be.

"And? Isn't this what you wanted?" I ask, I pick up a few candy bars.

"Yea but…"

"But?" I drop a twenty on the counter and nod to the cashier to keep the change. He thanks me in his native tongue and I nod.

"But something is off." She sighs, "It's dumb but I thought I saw someone at the music studio across the street."

"Well you're in New York City you're going to see people."

" **Same with you dumbass, and here you are trailing someone."** It hisses, I roll my eyes but not before glancing in the direction I was headed in before Bubbles called me.

"I know but this person…. _'_ _Ms. Utonium I'm sorry to interrupt but you're needed in the directors office_.' Buttercup. I've got to go. See you soon. Love you." She hangs up abruptly.

" **See. You're not a priority**." Shut up.

I shove the key into my apartment door and lock it shut. I growl at myself for not thinking of cleaning off my desk in front of the giant window. My desk has a great view of the city below when it isn't being blocked by a mountain of, now lost, job opportunities. I trash the papers, crack my knuckles and begin my search.

Blossom~

"Wait Smith, slow down. I could barely read your text!" I huff, standing on the curb waiting to cross the street, "Wait you did what? You actually caught Bugs?! I'm on my way. I'll contact Miller."

I quickly find Miller in my contacts and hit dial. As the phone rings something catches my eye in the ally way across the street and I end the call. A tall figure stands in the shadows, almost ominous looking. Suddenly I feel a chill down my spine causing me to shudder. I step onto the street without looking eyes locked with this figure. The figure tilts its head and reveals something more sinister than I could think.

A set of scorching red eyes.

It smiles devilishly and points to my right. I look only to be met with a blaring horn as a bus comes faster down the street than it should.

It all goes in slow motion for a moment yet I still stand frozen. The smell of burning rubber fills my nostrils and I hear the bus driver's heart beat over the horn as he nears closer.

The metal curls around me, the bus jerks up from the inertia.

It doesn't hurt to be hit by this bus. If anything it's a hollow feeling of what being punched by Buttercup is like.

I finally come to my senses and wrap my arms around the front of the bus to absorb the rest of the force behind it, I go up with the bus before gently placing it back on all four tires. I rush onto the bus after radioing in an ambulance carrying people off who can't walk.

No casualties, just a few broken bones.

Thank God.

My phone screams from my pocket as an EMT asks me who's the worst off. I point to an elderly couple that's clutching onto one another. The wife may have broken her ankle and I feel awful about it.

I pick up my phone with a growl.

"What?!"

"Hey it's me, you need to get down here before Bugs asks for a lawyer, is everything okay?" Miller asks, concern coating his normally gruff voice.

"Yea, I just got hit by a bus, be there in five."

"A bus?" He asks but I hang up. I stare into the alley way to see nothing, not even an alley cat in the over turned trashcans. I keep my eyes glued to the spot the shadow stood in even as I float into the sky.

"What do you mean you didn't see the 'other guy'?" I ask, astounded, "What do you mean he seemed inhuman?"

"I _mean_ this guy took my hit before I could. So it won't me." His shackles hit the table harder than his fist, "There were two of 'em involved you gotta believe me."

"Well I don't. Do you even have a description?" I pinch the bridge of my nose. I assess his body language and Bugs really believes the bullshit he's trying to sell us.

"Yea see, the hit man, I caught a glimpse of his eyes. They held mine, face having a nasty smile before leaving faster than I could blink. Thank God my scope was between us. They was green see, almost glowing in the shadows."

My heart jumps in my throat for a moment.

Green?

Glowing?

"What?"

"I aint done see. Then a car pulls up, a real nice car. Aston Martin. The window cracks enough to see a set of eyes. Set of _red_ eyes. I aint talkin the high, doped up kind. The irises. Like how yours is pink. Also seemed to glow. I think he's called the Red Devil."

"What are you going on about?" I'm starting to think he's delusional but something is nagging at me. It doesn't seem too coincidental after what I saw earlier.

"Why were you going to take out the victim?" Miller, my partner askes. Steering the conversation to that more of a confession.

"Look I'm gettin' there!" He yells, sipping his water, "Look, see the Red Devil says to me, 'Don't take what is rightfully ours.' That's all I know. Now I wanta lawyer."

I stare at the coffee pot in the break room and wonder if what Bugs said was true. Could he be telling the truth and if so….

No.

No, they were dead.

I….

I watched….

I watched Buttercup…..

Destroy them. I watched her take the burden for us.

Bubbles and I could….we never could have been able to do what she did. She took all of that pain...for us.

My phone pings begging for attention.

'Another homicide on fifth and main. We need you Detective U.'

'Be there soon.' I reply, downing my coffee.

 **A/N fuck it I'm trying this out.**

 **Review if you want more**


	3. Chapter 3

Time passes and it follows still. It has been with me for as long as I can remember but the issue is not only has it gotten bigger, it has also taken a new more familiar shape. It used to be just a shadowy figure that would occasionally whisper from the corner and I would have to strain to hear but now it can scream. It can grasp hold of me and cause me to freeze leaving me totally at its mercy.

It has no mercy.

Never has.

Especially now that it stands six foot four with green eyes.

The same but not the same.

At first glance when I opened the knocking door I thought it him in the flesh. He looked so real, illuminated by the lights in the hall. His eyes, glowing with a mixture of emotions. Staring into my soul, like they used to.

So I slammed the door.

Because if it was him.

He made me a promise.

A very deadly promise.

Spending time with it has proved me wrong. He isn't solid. More wispy than not.

It's like looking at him through a grey lens, only his eyes reflect color.

Reflect rage.

Glowing with despair and loathing.

I swear sometimes I see it breathe. It has never done that before.

Appeared so life like I mean.

It sits on the couch, much how I remember him to sit. Relaxed but eyes on edge.

Its eyes are always on me.

His eyes are always on me.

Part of his promise come to life.

I sigh, the clock reads midnight. This is my fourth day being holed up in my apartment again. This time I've kept up with eating and bathing.

Instead of doing nothing, this time I wrote six articles and did a little digging on that figure.

I exhausted my resources and connections to see if anyone knew someone abnormally tall in this town.

Nothing.

My eyes burn from staring at my monitor searching surveillance cameras for hours. I decide to get some fresh perspective and shove myself away from my desk.

It stands, hovering over me.

" **Another fruitless effort. Another failure to add to your list**." It makes as if it's taking notes and I roll my eyes. I stand, meet it face to face.

Meet him face to face.

My stomach lurches and I turn away.

I can feel its smug smile settled on my back.

" **Something bothering you**?"

" **Butterbabe. I always know when something's wrong. Maybe a k.."**

"SHUT UP!" I scream fisting my hair. I need human interaction and I need it quickly.

" **No one wants to be with you**."

I act without thought, shoving my strong legs into skinny black jeans and pull myself into the closest shirt I can find. I stare at my reflection in the window; I look good enough to be seen in the dark. A crop top and skinny jeans, I'll stand out a little in the clubs but not too much. I grab my old leather jacket from the back of the couch and free fall for a moment from the 50th floor

" **We could botch the landing**."

Before gently landing on my feet. I send it a glare, it knows it would take more than that to kill me.

A lot more.

I've tried

Once

Or Twice.

But that's another story.

The sound of the people buzzing is already drowning him out. So he stops and just follows.

Ever following.

Sooner rather than later I find myself at a club I used to frequent with my good friend Kimiko. Funny how bodies have such an odd muscle memory. I walk past the long line of people waiting with my hands in my pockets. The guard nods to me with a smile, opening the door behind him. A chorus of boos follows me in my wake. Music booms loud enough for it to echo in my chest and he has all but disappeared.

I make way through the crowd of sweating bodies and find the bar tender. He smiles and sets a large bottle of rum in front of me. I reach in my pocket for some cash but he shakes his head.

"On the house." He says in English just in case I haven't picked up on the language yet. Funny that he knows my profile. I nod grabbing the bottle and finishing it whole. He sets another in front of me to my liking. Again I reach for cash and again I get the same response.

Soon I'm beginning to feel a little tipsy. I choose to mingle by dancing with a group of girls who tell me how kawaii I am in person. I enjoy it.

I relish the kind words for now.

It is gone, I do not feel its eyes on me and forget about it for majority of the night. I fuel the forgetfulness with more alcohol and more dancing.

The night wanes on.

"LAST CALL!" Is shouted in both English and Japanese. As this is one of the few mixed clubs in the city. The reason being how close it is to an American naval base. I'm the first back to the bar for a final bottle and this time place a 100 dollar bill on the counter. Not taking no for an answer this time. The bar tender bows and helps the man next to me.

The man's eyes are glue to me despite my boring outfit.

"Haven't seen you before." He whispers in my ear and I giggle.

"You might have."

"Where?"

"On the news once."

"Oh?" His tone is curious, a little drunken and deep enough to cause a stir in my stomach. His lips brush my ear by accident and I feel a sudden rush of heat.

"Yes." I smile.

Before I know he's shoved me up against the door to my apartment, hands roaming and lips pressed firmly against mine.

Well as firmly as a human can.

I break the kiss and hold up my apartment key. I quickly open the door and he scoops me into his arms. I laugh and he kisses me roughly slamming the door shut with is foot.

He strips me of my jacket and finds himself guessing at the end of the hall to the bedrooms. I don't give him a hint just to see how good he is at guessing.

Lady luck has blessed him.

He slams me on the bed and I rip his shirt from his body.

Literally.

I'm met with perfect muscles and a large scar down his chest.

Lady Luck has blessed him more than once. My eyes train on the former injury.

He ignores my drunken and very curious stare, shimming the black jeans off my toned figure.

He groans when he sees my underwear.

Or lack thereof.

He explores with his hands for a few minutes getting a moan here and there before he dives in.

His tongue does wonders.

I'm about to climax when he comes up for air.

"Not yet." He laughs and thrusts himself into me.

A perfect fit.

Almost.

I flip him onto his back and break my bed frame in the process.

"Damn, how strong are you?"

I smile devilishly in answer. I grind on him until he groans, shuddering beneath me. His pleasure pushes me over the edge.

I dismount and lie in a state of boozy calm.

He falls asleep holding me tight.

It appears in the corner and I frown.

I close my eyes and try to fall asleep before it can use his voice to shame me.

Breathe in

Breathe out

Breathe in

The nameless man turns over letting go of me, pulling me closer to the living than the dead.

Despite being exhausted I'm still awake. I lie awake for a few moments. Eyes fluttering from a tired body

But a busy mind.

It is standing over me now, close to the edge of the bed. I swear it takes a sharp inhale as it watches me stir.

I feel woozy looking at it.

Hairs stand on the back of my neck but I chalk it up to a combination of the open window and booze.

It reaches for my face.

I close my eyes again not wanting to feel it.

If I can't see it touch me then I can't feel it, normally. On the few occasions that I can feel it. It has fingers like ice.

A moment passes.

Then I feel fingertips.

Warm fingertips.

My eyes snap open and I sit up in bed.

Nothing, it is gone.

I think I smell something and go to take a wiff.

But a strong breeze comes through bringing in the scent of a storm.

I sniff anyway, in hopes that something will be different.

Just storm air, salt from the sea and a little bit of a pine smell.

I flip over no longer wanted to face the open window.

I nuzzle into the muscular back of the marine next to me. He smells of the ocean and intimacy.

Breathe in

Breathe out

Breathe in

Breathe out

I take sharp inhale of air as I come to my senses. It's just me being bathed in the early morning sun. His half of the bed cold. He's been long gone. I sit up and find no trace of him.

Save his ACU jacket that with his rank, last name peeled off leaving the soft half of velcro in its wake.

I wonder for a moment if that happened before or after he left the club.

Either way I have a new shirt to add to my collection.

It smells like him. Sweat and salty air.

I sigh and slip it on to go to the kitchen to make myself some coffee.

It follows

It gives me no time to recover.

" **That lonely and desperate huh?** "

" **You're such a slut. You fuck anyone who gives you the time of day.** "

I add the instant coffee to my microwaved water. Barbaric I know but I'm desperate.

" **You can say that again.** "

" **I wouldn't call this one night stand a victory. Military men sleep with anything that walks. He wasn't attracted to you he just wanted a toy for the night. Plus I know no one can compare to the time you and I…** "

I'm shaking as it goes into detail of an old memory.

Twisting open an old wound.

Images flash in my head as it moves to a more sinister memory.

Sapphire blue eyes become dull grey.

Auburn red hair matted with crimson.

Green eyes burning with so many emotions

Rage

Confusion

Hurt.

One of those same green eyes being ripped from a handsome face.

Popping like a grape in my hand.

I vomit into the kitchen sink. Shaking hard as I heave again.

I dry heave for a few minutes before I stand over the sink.

Hands clutching the marble, cracking it down the length of the cabinets.

My phone rings from the living room cutting the episode short.

I lunge over the couch for it, hoping

PRAYING

That it's Blossom.

Instead it's Kimiko.

Fair trade.

"Hello?" I answer but she begins speaking franticly and in Japanese.

"Kimiko I haven't spoken Japanese to a soul since you left for you trip. Slow down!" She does but still uses Japanese instead of practicing her English with me. It means whatever she's about to tell me has her very worked up.

"Did you hear what happened last night?"

"No….?"

"A man! An American Military man!"

"Do I need to break someone's neck?"

"No he was the victim this time. He said he got home early this morning, like four in the morning."

"No one in the barracks woke up from him coming in?"

"No he was a higher ranked officer, high enough to sleep in a barrack by himself. The leaf symbol, a uhh Major!"

Fear washes over me in an icy wave.

I lift the breast of the jacket and see a leaf staring back at me.

" **Oh my** " It chuckles

"And!?"

"And he was attacked in the middle of the night. Both of his femur bones were broken. It's all over the news!" She exclaims, "At first I thought it was your work, he even said it had glowing green eyes but then he said the figure was tall. Taller than him."

I had to tilt my head up slightly to kiss him. Maybe an inch or so shorter.

"What? Glowing eyes?"

"Yes _glowing_. He emphasized it several times. I was worried I just caught the last detail. It was just released. But it's okay you don't have to run from the law since it wasn't you."

"Kimiko. I've uh I've got to go."

I hang up the phone quickly.

And dry heave on all fours in the middle of my living room floor.

 **Please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

I lost a day to an episode.

Haunting eyes both memories and delusions.

So I stop.

I stopped looking into a ghost.

Taking this as a sign to quit the project all together.

I had a enough phantoms in my life and for all I knew it could have been one of the nation's basketball players or

Something.

I work instead.

Another chapter of my book finally finished.

Four years.

It took four years to start adding to it again.

I write several more articles for a few blogs who have asked me so stay on board for as long as I can.

" **So until I play with you for months again**."

I roll my eyes over the feeling of depression.

Yet it lingers.

" **This again? You've finally finished this chapter but look at the descriptions. It's as if a child wrote it**."

I feel this jab.

A knife twisting in my heart.

Giving me that weightless weight in my chest once more.

"Yes." I mutter to myself, "It's _that_ bad."

My phone buzzes.

A text.

Then a ring.

BLOSSOM reads the screen with a picture of her smiling towards the camera.

At least she can still smile.

I answer.

"Hey, you almost here?" I look over my shoulder. It smiles at me, using his deadly, beautiful smile. My eyes pass over the phantom form and look towards my apartment.

I need to make sure none of my symptoms are showing through.

Nothing.

I've been keeping up with the house work.

Even grocery shopped to make a few meals for their stay.

"Oh about that Buttercup, that's actually why I called." Her tone sounds defeated, sad.

" **One down, one more to go**."

"What about it?"

"This case is getting weirder and weirder and I can't take any leave to see you. I'm sure Bubbles is coming still. She should be there too."

" **Rude to cancel last minute but I like her style of disappointment.** "

"Alright no problem. I'll call Bubs in a minute. Be careful on your weird case."

"I'll see you soon. I love you." She says before hanging up.

" **Both lies.** " It laughs and I curl into myself on my desk chair for a moment before picking up my phone again.

Bubbles picks up on the first ring.

"Buttercup! I'm so glad you called did you see my text? I can't make it out. I've gotten this large dress order for the upcoming red carpet event in LA. I know my assistant can't fill the order. Plus I've gotten this weird…"

" **Two for two. Both pretty little liars.** "

"It's okay don't worry about it. I'm glad you guys can't make it out I'm in the middle of a project anyway. Bye. Get it done." I interrupt her and hang up in one breath.

I stare at my computer screen until my eyes begin to hurt. I turn it off without saving my progress and crawl into bed.

" **That's my girl.** "

Months pass since I've last spoken to either sister. Blossom had to cancel seeing Buttercup because of a very heavy case opening up that could not be neglected. I had to cancel because I had been asked to make 100 more dresses for an upcoming red carpet event.

Handmade dresses.

In a matter of weeks but I got it done.

Guess I'm not a Powerpuff girl for nothing.

I sit, needle poised over my last dress. The bodice is done in a deep ocean blue.

The problem with this dress is that it was asked by an anonymous buyer.

A husband requested it for his wife. Whom I wasn't allowed to see to take measurements.

I was just given them in the letter.

You read that right, a letter.

The oddest part about it all was the woman had the EXACT same measurements as me.

It felt as if I was making my own dress.

Which made it harder not to make the dress for me.

Though the husband had said the only thing he wanted to dictate was the color.

Deep

Ocean

Blue.

The rest was up to me.

I've always been pulled to this color.

This color used to hold fond memories.

Loving eyes.

Soft kisses.

I sigh and wonder if this man knew how torturous this task was becoming.

But I need to add something!

"Ms. I think we should break for lunch." Assistant Lopez chimes in. Setting her completed dress down.

A gorgeous piece of deep red wine wrapped in charcoal lace.

I nod setting down my dress. Unhappy with my lack of progression.

The details are always the hard part.

The request came after I had finished my large order so I've been working on it for weeks.

"It's hard to make a dress for someone you've never met." Rosa comments, sensing my growing disdain, "At least when people come in for measurements you get some aspect of their personalities."

"True but still I…"

"You nothing, now come on our favorite café is about to fill up and I want a seat by the window!" She checks her watch before grabbing her coat, "Meet you there in ten! I'll grab us a seat!"

I stare for a few more moments, hoping beyond hope that something will come to me.

Nothing

My ten minutes is up and I know Rosa will start an order without me.

I stand, glancing at the calendar noting that I only have four days to complete this dress.

Shit.

It's cold outside for October, really cold. The wind assaults me as soon as I step outside causing me to snuggle deeper into my jacket. Something catches my eye in the music studio across the street.

Bright blue eyes.

Not my own eyes in the reflection of the large glass pane.

A bus stops in front of the studio and I fly over it to stare into the window.

Just a petite girl twirling in an ever spiral.

Her eyes ice blue.

But not the same blue I thought I had just seen.

My phone buzzes in my pocket pulling me away from the studio.

Hurry and get here. I've already ordered for you. – Lopez always takes the liberty of ordering for me.

When she is angry she will eat my lunch too. I stare into the studio one more time before flying to the café.

 **I know it's short but please review.**

 **Thank you!**


	5. Chapter 5

Loneliness wraps around me like a blanket. My desk is littered with all sorts of bottles of alcohol.

Beer.

Vodka

Rum

Tequila

I believe I've been binge drinking for

Five

Maybe six days.

" **Eight.** " It corrects.

"As IF you've never been on a binger." I mutter, typing furiously.

I take in a full bottle in a few gulps.

A fire burns down my throat and spreads in my chest. Temporarily filling the void.

I shudder and goosebumps prickle my skin.

" **Classy.** "

Never was.

That was more Blossom's style. I turn the music up louder in my head phones to drown out my thoughts and focus on the here and now.

On the criminal report that's typing itself.

Or so it feels like.

A police station near Blossom's division has read my portfolio of work and picked me to piece together/ beef up the criminal's thought patterns and habits.

Easy shit for most of these guys, they range from pedophiles to serial killers. When one is so immersed in reading body languages and next moves of some of the biggest threats to mankind, one gets familiar with their habits. I blindly type cracking my neck in the process. I've almost finished what they've ask of me.

250 criminals analyzed and their cases organized for the lame man and the more complicated.

I finish within the hour and attached the files via secure email. My mouse hovers over send as my eyes drift to the last bottle that I have.

 _PING_

My eyes return to my screen. A new email from the chief who's asked me for the reports.

 _Buttercup,_

 _I know we have asked a lot of you this morning and I hope that you have been tackling the project well. But I have a big favor to ask. Please stop working on those small cases for now._

 _I have two criminals I have no real backgrounds on and this seems like something bigger….more sinister than the normal criminals I deal with on day to day basis._

 _And that's saying something._

 _I have attached what little information I have on them below. The information is old._

 _Maybe three years or so. They are not active now but I want to be prepared for when they are._

 _Best Regards,_

 _Sheriff Wade of G City PD._

I reach for my bottle and crack the top.

I double click the files and they open right up.

The crime scene photos make my stomach churn.

This is dirty and very

Familiar work.

I swallow hard and read the file. The crimes are hits of all sorts of people.

Lots of organized crime.

The patterns here feel very familiar.

Work that I know I've seen before, up close and personal.

" **Déjà vu.** " It hisses over my shoulder as it stares at the description or what little there is of the criminals.

Dark eyes.

Red.

Not the sclera but the iris. Like a devil.

Long red hair.

I grit my teeth clutching the bottle harder.

Four year old information.

These crimes are dated before….

Before I took care of three major problems.

I swallow as I quickly scroll down to the other and more 'dangerous' perpetrator.

Tall

Built but not overly so.

Devilish smile.

Green eyes

Often glowing.

I hear my bottle cracking in my hands and I save it by tipping the bottom up.

Hoping

Praying

That I don't lose it over this email.

" **You look as if you've seen a ghost.** " It laughs settling its arms around me as if it were a lover. It holds me tight, icy grip pulling that weighted void in my chest. My hands shake as they hover over the keys.

For the first time in years I'm at a loss for words.

 _Wade,_

 _I apologize but I have already completed your request and am no longer taking on new projects._

 _-Buttercup_

My phone has been ringing none stop since we arrested Bugs, who less than a day later posted bail.

But now that I stand on the corner of seventy-fifth and main I wonder if _he_ was the one who posted bail or if a separate entity did.

I stand over his stone cold body. Burns and lacerations cover him from head to toe.

A gruesome sight indeed.

I blew off seeing my sister to try to catch Bugs on another crime.

To be honest he was one of my favorite hit men.

My coffee churns in my stomach as I see one eye ripped from its socket, resting gently in his mouth.

I suppress a shudder and make my way to Miller who is finishing up an interview with the person who came across him.

Poor poor woman,

She will be haunted of this image for as long as she lives.

"Detective." He greets finishing up his notes.

"Miller." I greet. Miller and I have a….special relationship.

Yea, that's what we will call it.

Special.

Though it consists of late nights, drunken sloppy work.

But hey in the end we both win.

He never takes it personal and neither do I.

"What do we have?" I ask sipping my coffee handing him his.

"Well we have a shit show is what we have ma'am." He sneers, nodding in thanks for his coffee. He sips gently and I slip for a moment, thinking of kissing him.

Of just forgetting this chaos and….

Well he lives for it

And I feel an obligation now that I have no monsters to fight.

Well ones that warrant super strength.

I turn back towards the victim.

There is a message there.

Body posed, a threat of some sort.

The brutality of the murder but the delicacy of the placed eye.

Of the hands lying over a ripped out heart.

For a moment I go cold.

Thinking back to when…

 _She is my sister but she isn't._

 _She stands tall over two fallen brothers. The third spitting blood in her direction._

 _'I'll do this, I'll do it so you two won't have too.' The words echo in my head as hits are exchanged. The Earth scorching from the force, the sound barrier breaking all while I clutch my sunshine haired sister._

 _She lands a critical hit._

 _Her hand flashes as a guttural growl escapes her lips. Something small held eye before being tossed as if it were trash._

 _Hand raised a final time._

 _Ripping through flesh._

 _A sound that wakes me from my dreams._

 _A deep guttural growl from the third fallen brother._

 _'Do it.'_

 _So she does, pulling slowly, agonizingly slow._

 _Before she raises her hand to her mouth, opening it to take a bite of…._

"Blossom! Hey you there?" Miller asks hand finding my shoulder.

For a moment too brief.

"Yea just make sure Hector takes good pictures of the body. I want this whole place swept over four times. I'm going to question the residents in the apartments facing the alley."

He looks at me with concern in his eyes before they go hard.

"Yes, ma'am. See you in a few hours."

I really needed to check on my sisters but sadly they would have to wait.

 **Please review and enjoy.**


	6. Chapter 6

I'm out of breath for the first time in a long time.

Trying to catch a perp at that.

Or maybe

Maybe I'm chasing a phantom.

The perp barrels right around a corner and I slide almost missing the chance to follow

He rounds another corner into a dead end alley instead of a connecting side street.

I smirk to myself, either this guy has no idea what he's doing or

He knows exactly what he's doing.

I skid to a stop, hand hovering over my weapon.

Not too many criminals remember who I am or what I am.

I decide against it, using the façade of vulnerability to my advantage.

In a split second I'm in the alley, I'm met with nothing but three tightly knit brick walls and empty overlooking balconies.

There is no way.

No damn way.

Even if the guy was a full minute in front of me he wouldn't have had time to scale the whole building without me catching him half way up at least.

The ladders to the fire escapes are still a good four feet in the air, if they did climb them the ladder would be down or I would have heard it at the very least.

Hell one is even rusted stuck to the other.

I pull on the rusted one with the force of a human male, it doesn't even budge.

I pull with the force of a Powerpuff and it comes loose. I float slowly into the air and inspect the apartment windows.

I give the perp the benefit of the doubt.

Maybe he was an NBA player or something and he can jump super high.

Slowly I rise to the top of the building. Eyes roaming over closed windows.

Not a single one is open.

I stand on the ledge of the tall brick building looking down into the alley, waiting just in case there was a spot he could hide that I didn't notice.

Nothing.

Not even an alley cat moves.

I sigh, turning to the rooftops for clues.

Nothing here either. I jump to the second building across the way and find something odd.

A dark red baseball hat lies in the middle of the roof top.

A chill runs over me for a moment,

But even if….

No this was stupid he was

Dead.

I walk slowly towards the hat as if it were snake I had to snatch.

I stare at it for a few moments and then the sky opens up.

This is a coincidence it has to be.

This red hat that I can't bring myself to pick up has to be the biggest coincidence there ever was.

It's not like he owned the copyrights to a god damn red hat.

I pick the now soaked hat, damning myself for not catching it before the sheets of rain fell from the sky.

If there were any hairs or any sort of evidence then it would be long gone after this storm.

Lightening cracks above me and I'm suddenly reminded of my sister.

I crumble the hat in my hands and say that enough is enough.

I need to visit Buttercup, I need to see both of my sisters and stop pulling myself into this insanity.

I jump down into the alley.

Buttercup~

 _"An eye for an eye." Says me but not me. A more primal angry me who wants revenge._

 ** _RRRRIINNNNNNGGG_**

I pull in air quickly through my nose grasping for my phone. I don't remember falling asleep but somehow I did.

"Hello?" My voice comes out hoarse, scratchy even. As if I had smoked too many cigarettes. I stare at the four empty packs near my laptop.

"Hey are you okay?" It's Blossom. I clear my throat.

"Yea what's up? How's that case goin?" Still a little scratchy.

"Did I just wake you?"

"No."

"Good. It's what five at night there?" She askes and I confirm it with my laptop. She's right as always.

"Anyway. The case is turning into a delusional wild goose chase. I'm over it and packing up to head there now. Same with Bubbles, she asked me to tell you as she finished this dress. Or took a break from it I can't remember which."

I glance around my apartment again. It's neat enough, just my desk holds my symptoms. I sigh staring at five or so empty dime bags.

Shit.

 **"Don't remember getting your fix last night?"**

No wonder I slept hard, I see in the process I bought several handles. All empty.

"Okay cool. Eta? I can have dinner by the time you guys get here."

 _PING_

 _PING_

Two emails, about the fifth one from the sheriff in the states. And another from a news blog I follow.

 _'Phantom man strikes again.'_

 _PING_

"Around seven or eight thirty probably. Is that going to be any trouble?" Blossom asks in between me reading the emails.

"No. Bloss do you know a Sheriff Wade?" I hear Blossom take another sip of her drug of choice.

"Yea I met him once or twice when a murder was on the city line. Why?"

"He's been emailing me. A lot of sheriffs have been requesting me for profiling lately." I rise from the desk to see what groceries I need to buy.

" **Everything. You haven't eaten,** ** _love._** _"_ I know.

"Emailing you, profiling? Sounds like a good gig."

"Yea he wired me 2k before I even started. I got the 250 cases done and got another 3k right? But get this before I sent him what I had done he had an additional request. He's been blowing up my email since I denied it."

"Why did you deny it?"

"I didn't like what I was looking at. It was raw and familiar if I'm being honest. I even turned down her 20k for the profiling and additional information I could get for him."

"WHAT?" Blossom yells, whatever was in hand dropped. I hear her fumble for her phone with a light curse.

"Language." I tease and she laughs.

"That's dead and gone now Buttercup. But 20k I mean I knew that county was loaded but still."

 _PING_

 _PING_

 _PING_

"Is that him again" Bloss asks.

"I'll check here in a minute." I say jotting down what I need for dinner tonight and for the next couple of days. I cradle my phone in between my shoulder and ear as I toss a few old pizza boxes off the counter and into the trash.

My laptop illuminates the dark apartment the three emails waiting patiently.

"No not Wade, it's a uuuhhh Sheriff" I squint from the kitchen counter, scalding water rushing over old plates, "Thompson."

"WHAT? THOMPSON?"

"Yes do you know him?" I return to the task at hand, scrubbing the sponge in circles.

"Yea I know him, he's my damn boss! Wait read the email. I need to call Miller."

"No you can't call him. Confidentiality remember?" I half growl.

"Okay. Okay but can you tell me what's in the email?"

"I will after I read it. Just let me know when you and Bubbles leave." I say, cutting the water off quickly. I place the dishes on a towel to dry.

"Okay will do. Bye."

 _CLICK_

Curiosity gets the better of me and I look at my first two emails. Both from Thompson.

 _'Buttercup,_

 _I have heard of your expertise through the grape vine so to speak. Not one department is unhappy with the work that you have done. Sheriff Wade recommended you heavily._

 _Though he and I have a very similar request and a_ _ **dire**_ _need for you to fill it._

 _In addition to his $20,000 I will offer $45,000 for any information on the following criminals. I know a lot of information in ancient in the terms of investigations but a lead is better than none. We have been seeing similarities between the two cities please review the following cases and help us catch these merciless people._

 _Best Regards,_

 _Sheriff Thompson, Townsville PD._

I open the attached files and do not like what I see. A man lying perfectly still, cleaned up even. One at first glance would think him sleeping.

But upon further inspection one can see that he is not.

The first thing my deft eyes find are his hands, cradling a meaty heart. With what seems like a bite missing.

I swallow the bile.

" **Oh this feels very familiar, doesn't Butterbabe, look even his eye is missing! Oh no there it is resting in his mouth. Though you didn't eat his eye only a part of his heart. Literally.** "

It laughs over my shoulder and I stare at the screen.

No I won't.

I won't go into an episode because of this.

Two more files are attached and forwarded from Sheriff Wade, begging Thompson to stress the seriousness of these unfolding cases.

The next two victims make my stomach churn worse.

One has dull dead eyes, a necklace of finger shaped bruises and a twisted neck.

The other, face half bashed in and a throat ripped open to reveal the inner workings.

Similar in pattern yes, but more violent.

More message than murder.

A message that feels as if it is for me.

I reach into my desk drawer and grab my emergency pills and flask. I take the whole bottle and finish the flask in a few minutes.

I go to the top email hoping it is something different. But it speaks of a _Glowing Phantom_.

Eyes

Green

Glowing.

God am I sick of that description. It can only ever describe

" **Me**."

The hot water soothes my aching body. From stress and poor posture both.

It isn't long before it begins to ramble.

" **I'm finally making good on that promise, and I brought some friends with me.** "

Two heads seem to come through the shower wall.

It has gotten more powerful for now.

" **He always makes good on his** ** _threats_** **doesn't he BC?** " It has Brick's voice, face and even his dark red eyes. I growl as it has Boomer chime in.

" **I never did anything to you. I was the innocent one, I didn't do what** ** _they_** **did. I could have lived. I could have taken care of Bubbles. I only fucked up once or twice.** "

"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!" I erupt in lime green energy destroying the entire bathroom. The ceiling exposes the open sky and my shower water is replaced with rain water. It brings a chill over me.

"Buttercup?" I hear Bubbles' soft voice call from the foyer.

"I let myself in I hope that was okay. You'll be out soon?"

" **Oblivious as always.** " It returns to its favorite form sneering from behind me.

"Yea I call." Sealing off the ceiling with green energy wall. At least it's some sort of fix.

I hear Bubbles setting up her things in what she deemed her bedroom when I first moved in.

She must plan to stay for longer than a week as I hear her unpack her sewing machine. I sigh though I am relieved for the possibility of extended company.

I towel my hair dry as much as I can before evaporating the water from my hair with heated fingers.

I dress quickly, it follows on my heels as I find Bubbles siting at her sewing machine. Leaning over a sapphire blue dress.

" **Boomer's favorite shade.** " It comments.

"What are you working on?"

"This stupid dress!" She says throwing her hands up turning to face me, "I'm over it. Some mystery man wants it for his mystery wife."

My eyes catch the ring she still wears on her left hand.

Silver

Large diamond.

Stolen from Fink's Jewels when we were sixteen.

The only ring taken only to be found two years later.

She never asked for him to take it back.

" **She hasn't forgotten, she still feels for him while you let me** ** _rot_** **.** "

"Well it looks good so far. How isn't it done?" I ask, leaning against the door jamb.

"Missing details ya know?"

"Like?"

"Like personality!"

"You gonna stay awhile?"

"No, just the week but I couldn't let the dress stay at the studio unfinished."

"Hello?" Blossom calls from the living room.

We both go to greet our Commander and Leader. She pulls us into a tight hug.

As if she hasn't seen us in ages.

Which I guess it has been a year or so. I feel her heart shaped necklace beneath her shirt press against me.

" **She hasn't forgotten either.** "

I pull away out of frustration.

Blossom tries hard not to look hurt.

"Was I bothering your scar?" She asks, gentle fingers ghosting over the thick line that goes over my left eye. An inch above, through the brow and an inch into my cheek. I lost my eye to this injury. I let my sight stay lost in hopes that it would come back. But I learned the hard way that even a Chemical X ridden eye cannot repair itself, only rebuild.

I pulled the eye from my socket a week after the incident. Professor might still have my grey eye in the lab.

"No." I swat her hand away. I hate being reminded of the start of my heartbreak.

" **She was irritating a different type of scar.** "


	7. Chapter 7

It eats away at me even as I stare at the face of my one true love. He's handsome in a very rugged way. His face always has some sort of scruff or beard to it. Though he usually has it closely shaved. His raven hair shines like stars in the night and his eyes, god his eyes. Not only do they look at me as if I am the most amazing thing that's ever graced this planet they look like tranquility. Like being in the woods in the summer, looking up into deep green leaves that wink with the sunlight.

I know this will never go away, this feeling that I have no matter how happy I become it will always linger. He's asleep now, gently snoring as I lie awake in the middle of the night wondering why I was ever created. Why anyone of us were. He never has a care in the world, to him there are no consequences.

Something I truly envy.

It lingers in the corner, a dark mass. Growing, adapting to the changes in my life.

It's better at adapting than myself.

I've been with him for a while now.

We've been dating maybe two years?

Doesn't matter.

It decides that we are too close.

That it's time to end whatever he and I have.

So I shove my legs into my black skinny jeans, pull my white and black baseball tee over my head and steal one of his hoodies.

He's always in a deep, deep sleep after we fuck.

We go at each other with every ounce of our beings.

I stand over him, enjoying him one last time before I leave.

My sisters can have their counterparts but I….

I cannot.

It isn't fair to him, he will always have me and my demon.

I press a small kiss to his forehead.

After this he won't exist.

He will be nothing more than a notch in my belt.

An enemy I concurred in a different way.

I can't help but linger a little longer in his room. He's the only happiness I've had in a while. Even when my sisters' love lost its luster.

I leave feeling hallow and

It follows.

I wake from the dream.

Or maybe more of a memory.

I swallow, it stands at the edge of the bed.

Staring, having no words.

It doesn't need them.

The form is enough.

I curl in on myself wanting to sob but nothing comes out.

I've been dried up for a long

Long

Time.

 _PING_

I've gotten emails nonstop since last night and I haven't checked a single one.

I glance at my phone, 9am.

 _Knock knock_

"Hey Buttercup we're going to go explore a bit okay? Find us if you can?" Bubbles asks from the other side of the door. I can hear her breathing, nice even breathes.

Another being who has minimal to worry about.

To be haunted by.

I never let them see the bodies.

I wish I never let them watch me do it.

"Okay." I half whisper and I hear Bubbles sigh.

"She probably has some work to catch up on." Blossom reassures her. I hear my apartment door close and I lie in bed for a few more moments.

I reach under my bed and grab a handle of alcohol. I chug and reach for the one that's further back.

I'll be sober before they come home.

Well I should be.

I rise and feel the barrier I built for the bathroom brush my mind. I sigh and text the maintenance guy to come by after my sisters leave.

He agrees.

Asking if there will be more than that to fix.

I don't answer because I don't know if I want to fuck in a week. If they even stay that long.

They can no longer be around me for long periods of time.

" **That's because everytime they see your face, they see the life you** ** _took_** **from them.** "

I had to.

You have to believe me that…

That I had to do it.

Because when I ripped that heart out I ripped…

 _PING_

The email snaps me out of it.

I find my laptop quickly.

I read from the beginning. Wade and Thompson have both been blowing up my email, increasing the price tag.

Then I start to notice a few more police departments are emailing me too.

Offering a lot.

I take these, the files that they have aren't who they think they are.

Phantom nor copycat.

 _(insert shitty PD here) PD,_

 _I'm sorry to disappoint but the files that you have sent me are of no relation to the 'Red Devil' nor the 'Glowing Phantom.' They are actually (insert dumbass criminal in previous files sent to me). I have completed the pervious files as requested. I expect the same price tag for these files that was promised from the second email sent, as I was not taking on more work but the answer was so obvious I_ _hated to see more innocent lives lost to mediocre detective work. I will withhold the completed request until the wire has been accepted by my financial institution._

 _Deepest Regards._

 _Buttercup._

I write that same email about ten or more times in the course of four hours. Their files easy detective work and I am appalled by how lazy these police departments are.

But hey if I did my math right,

Especially with the scare of a copycat or worse on the loose,

I should have roughly a mil by the end of the day.

The states always had the worst PD.

I get to my last two emails.

One from the local police department, I can't fully understand it. I can understand Japanese when it's spoken but I never learned to read it. I will have to ask Bubbles to translate.

The other is in both Japanese and English.

Which is odd, it's from a koroshimasu hmail

A random, how could they have gotten my email?

 _I know you hacked into my surveillance system six months ago._

 _It took me that long to trace the IP address. You're quite good. At first I couldn't figure out why someone would want footage of the sidewalk near my house._

 _Were you looking for this?_

A pic screen is attached of the tall figure I was looking for. I can see that it is a man by the broad set of the shoulders, I can't see his face as his hood is hiding his features. The man in the grainy black and white screen seems familiar.

The worst part of all of this

I watched that sidewalk for hours. Days' worth of footage to get nothing.

But it was the one across the street. His I only watched for an hour time frame.

Damn, bad foot work on my part.

 _I hope I have your interest. I know that this is an oddity._

 _The height I mean and after the phantom struck at the naval base near my house I thought maybe…maybe this is what she is looking for._

 _Yes I know you, you are the infamous TOUGHEST FIGHTER._

 _My favorite growing up. I have a hobby like this too._

 _Hunting for….oddities._

 _-Koroshimasu_

" **It seems I'm starting to catch up to you**."

Fuck

I really hope this creep doesn't show up at my door. But at this point I don't care. I try to enhance the image as best I can for hours, removing background and even some of the graininess but nothing changes the fact that I can't make out the…..

"Buttercup what are you looking at?" Bubbles asks from behind me and I, out of instinct, strike her.

Her cheek blooms a nasty bruise.

My heart sinks into my stomach and I go to comfort her.

"It's alright I snuck up on you." She says softly, trying her damndest not to cry.

"Buttercup you've got to see what Bubbles made me buy...Bubbles what happened?!" Blossom drops her bags and rushes to the sunshine sister.

"I snuck up on her." She says, "Don't worry about it."

Blossom still tries to fuss over it until her eyes land on my desk, littered with bottles.

"Have you been…day drinking?" She asks stunned.

"No." I lie.

"Is that why you hit Bubbles? Cause she was getting too close a look at your laptop?"

Here

We

Go.

Blossom loves to twist things.

"No what the hell?"

"You've gotten out of control, if you needed help why didn't you say so?" She ask, digging in her pocket for her phone, "Look you need to write this number down. You're going to go to my therapist. Dr. H.."

"I'm not going to a fucking shrink."

" **We are far beyond talking love.** " It whispers right into Blossom's ear. But she doesn't react.

Somedays I wish she would.

"I really think it would beneficial. It can't be good for you to be locked up in your apartment. Have you really been working or have you been lying?"

"Why are you on my case? You aren't my mother." I growl, starting to lose it.

Rage is easier than reason.

Much easier.

"Guys." Bubbles tries to chime in, but Blossom talks over her.

"I'm on your _case_ because I'm worried about you. You've…"

Great she's gonna fucking bring it up.

"Because you've sacrificed a lot for us."

"Guys.."

"Not now." Blossom says, she starts to drone on about how I couldn't be potentially damaged, how I could be fucked up. With every word she speaks the more I envision hitting her.

" **Fuck it do it.** "

So I do.

And her orbital bone snaps from the pressure.

And Bubbles gasps so loud that it almost sounds like one of her sonic screams.

Blossom cradles her face with her hands. A dark liquid slips between her fingers and fall on the floor in droplets.

"Buttercup…" Bubbles places her hand on Blossom's back before she finally rights herself.

"Well it was nice seeing you. Hope to visit soon." She says in tight voice as she goes to collect her things.

"See you never." I say after her. Because I know it will be years before she sees me again.

If she even does.

Good less people snooping in my business.

Bubbles stands in the same spot. Trying to absorb what has happened.

Blossom never emerges from her guest room, instead I see her leave from the balcony.

Droplets of red and shinning transparent float in the air behind her before plummeting to the Earth.

Blood

And

Tears.

Shit.

Bubbles looks at me too stunned to say anything.

She goes to her room and locks the door.

For a split second I fear I have lost both of my sisters.

" **Good riddance.** " It uses his nastiest tone. I snarl in response.

I listen closely but instead of the sound of rushed zipping I hear the hum of her sewing machine.

I let go of the breath I didn't realize I was holding. I top the bottle bottom up and plop myself in front of my laptop for the rest of the night.

It looms over me.

Icy fingers caressing my face, encouraging the tears falling down my cheeks. A shudder of pleasure courses through it.

" **It has been too long since I've last seen you cry.** "


	8. Chapter 8

I feel sad and I don't.

I'm sitting on the edge of apathy today.

Numb.

My spiral downward has worsened in my sisters' absence.

The apartment empty.

Still in shambles.

Just like me.

Right after Bubbles left the loneness was suffocating.

I threw party after party in hopes to numb myself or at least ease the pressure.

Even slept with my ex, Kimiko though we swore each other off.

She's why I'm in Japan in the first place.

Why I'm still here in this apartment.

Two weeks of endless partying.

It decided that that was too much human contact.

Decided I was doing too much.

It spoke more than I did.

It told me what pills to eat for the first few months.

Then I stopped moving all together.

It **_loved_** that at first

But soon

It realized that I was not going to leave this bed.

I'm unsure of when the last time I ate.

Moved.

Done something other than stare at the wall.

It has been absent,

I must be too weak for It to appear.

Months pass of an endless cycle of deep sleeping or insomnia.

I either spend my days asleep or awake.

There is no in between.

I feel close to my goal.

Of finally getting rid of It once and for all.

The price is high

But very much worth it.

Finally It appears in my hall.

Nose crinkling as if smelling for me but can't catch the scent.

The elements have gotten in and muddled with my smell.

The windows endlessly open since last winter.

It seems different, as if It is in full color and I am no longer looking at It through a clouded glass.

It stands in his form like it has since I first opened my apartment door to the strange knocking.

Shoulders broad, confident, eyes green as I remember. I see another It standing in the corner near the door, grey and wispy, eyes glowing green with worry.

He's making good on his promise,

 _When I see you again it will be 'cause I'm draggin' you back to Hell with me._

It is losing its host and it is fearful.

Parasitic bastard.

I use every last ounce of strength I have to stand.

Ready to great Death with open arms.

No matter **who** Death shows herself as.

My movements catch the brighter Butch's eye and his deep green eyes flash with a mixture of emotions.

I smile, he looks how I remember.

He rushes to me, catching me as I'm about to fall.

"What are you doing to yourself?" It comes out as a deep growl. I half snort in reply fingering the hem of his shirt.

He smells how he always smells.

Crisp air from high in the atmosphere and musky pine.

"You're warm." I whisper, his hands feel like hot coals on my cool smooth hips. One hand wanders under my sweatshirt, feathering over exposed ribs.

Another growl.

The same hand makes its way over my protruding collar bones, finally landing on one sunken cheek.

"What have you done?" He breathes out, fingers prodding my ribs once more.

Hurt clouds those perfect deep forest eyes. I shiver and he removes his signature black leather jacket with a cotton grey hood. He shifts my weight for me, gently guiding my now stick for arms in the oversized jacket.

It's warm, so damn warm.

How I remembered him to be.

Not cold.

Not lifeless in my burning hands.

I don't like how his face looks

As if he's worried, actually concerned that I'm going to drop dead.

"Stop." I hiss, trying and failing to push him away, "It's not fair that you're acting like this."

"Like what?" His body language softens with his voice, as if he's scared I'll break.

"Like I'm not guilty. Like I don't deserve to **_rot_** like you did. As if you don't hate me, as if you still…." I swallow, almost not wanting to say it, but I'm only admitting it to myself in the end right?

Since this is all in my head.

"Like you still love me." I whisper, his eyes dart between mine, hand squeezing my ribs tight.

He swallows and I can tell he's unsure of what to say.

But really I can't complain, at least he's how I remember him to be.

Who he actually is under all of that darkness.

Well, was.

It's getting harder to stand.

To focus.

To keep my eyes open.

I begin to lose my knees. His grip becomes tighter on my waist.

What's left of it anyway.

"Actually I'm glad, I know I don't deserve this but I'm glad you came to collect me like this, not vengeful, not angry but how I remember you." I take slow blinks and I'm fading fast, "I just wish you'd smile for me one last time."

The world starts to fade to black and the last thing I see are his deep green eyes shining, as if there were tears.

The same exact face he was making when I ripped his heart out.


	9. Chapter 9

Blossom~

I don't remember the last time I heard from my dark sister and it is finally eating at my conscious.

Maybe that was a white lie; it's been eating at me since the day I left her apartment.

Stinging cheek and all.

I have just been…

Running from it.

A bad habit I picked up and from whom I'm not sure.

Running to a six letter word.

Miller.

I've been drowning myself in him.

So much so that I haven't seen my own townhouse in the past six months.

A year and six months I haven't spoken to her.

I swallow the burning guilt.

I mean it wasn't that bad, the wound was healed before I even made it home.

I…provoked her.

I pinch the bridge of my nose and make my way to text Bubbles.

It's as if she's read my mind, her smiling face appears on my cell screen.

"Hey Bub."

"Oh Blossom I can't get a hold of Buttercup at all."

"What?" I ask, "Slow down, you're crying too hard for me to understand."

"SHE ISN'T ANSWERING! KIMIKO HASN'T HEARD FROM HER EITHER!" She yells, I hear her drop the phone to do a good sonic scream.

My ears ring and the glass on my phone cracks.

Great.

"BUBBLES!" I shout and she stops, sobbing into the receiver once more, "Calm down Bub you know she's done this before."

"Yea but that was when _he_ was alive and could find her!" She shouts, "We aren't close to her like he was, he always knew how to find her!"

"Hey, hey calm down," I start, "Even if he was alive we probably wouldn't want him to find her now anyway."

It was a bad attempt at a bad joke.

I hear Bubbles crush the phone in her hand before it becomes disconnected.

It never used to be this hard to calm Bubbles down; Buttercup was always the thorn in my side.

I sigh and call Buttercup's phone.

It goes straight to voicemail.

She either hasn't been charging it or has crushed it out of a fit of rage.

Most likely the latter.

I send her an email in hopes that she's glued to her computer. That happens sometimes.

So absorbed in work that her personal life doesn't matter.

Not that she has much of one anymore.

She's done this before though.

After she broke up with Butch out of nowhere.

Almost two years of dating down the drain and she was gone.

For almost a full year.

Or maybe it was a year, I can't remember.

I just remember Bubbles and I begging Butch to find her. I remember being so worried over her that I actually cried in front of Butch.

 _I grab a fistful of his black shirt, a piney musk sticks to my nose._

 _"Please…Butch she's never… never been gone this long." I say between sobs, he stands with his hands stuffed into the pockets of that damn leather jacket._

 _The one she got him for his birthday._

 _I clench harder, staring up into his face, eyes brimmed with tears._

 _His handsome features blurred but I can still see his clenched jaw, the apathy that still clings to him._

 _He's been aloof,_

 _Almost as hard to find as Buttercup._

 _But I found him._

 _Flew straight to him once I got word of where he was._

 _I tried bribing him with a get out of jail free card for six times._

 _No expiration date on it either._

 _No crime cap,_

 _I would even let murder slip by to find my sister._

 _I said I would give him any amount of money that he wanted._

 _I would_

 _Give_

 _Him_

 _Anything._

 _Normally giving him that much power over a person was too tempting for him to turn down._

 _Still his hard green eyes were colder than ever._

 _"Blossom, I'll tell you a final time," He says, gripping my wrist hard enough that it snaps, "If she wanted to be found you would have found her by now."_

 _He shoves me away from him._

 _His voice is like a punch to the gut._

 _Venom soaked words stinging with every syllable._

 _I choke on another sob, falling to my knees as he looks at me._

 _Eyes glowing dark, angry green, before walking away._

He ended up finding her later that night.

As if he knew where to find her that whole time.

I let it go for now.

She either will or won't reply and either way I'm sure I'll have to end up banging on her apartment door.

For the time being I'll go see Bubbles, sort things out with her before I lose another sister.

I'll get Bubbles to send Kimiko to her apartment or to look around in that area.

And if she is missing again I'm sure we will never find her.

I grit my teeth and try to call Miller.

I need to run away a few more times before I actually deal with this.

I'm still looking for a ghost, the red hat sitting on my kitchen counter.

Returning to that after the drama at my sister's is another reason I am heavily relying on Miller.

He soothes my ruffled feathers.

Not as well as Brick could but Brick's dead and Miller isn't.

My work phone rings in my jacket pocket and I avoid it, not wanting to answer Thompson.

He will just have more bad news.

More murders I'm sure.

Though the 'Green Phantom' and 'Red Devil' have been inactive the past six months.

Since I left for Japan.

No news of them so maybe,

Maybe Thompson is calling about that.

"Blossom." I finally answer the phone and Thompson scolds me for almost letting it go to voicemail.

"Look this is very important. That copycat is at it again. But his time…well you need to see if for yourself."

I go to the location Thompson sent me to.

Miller is arguing with someone on the phone.

"You shouldn't have told her! No this could be personal you dumb ass. What if..what if this is her si…." He turns around, "Shit I gotta go."

He turns his back to me again before sending a newbie my way.

"Hello Detective Utonimum." She sounds, I look her over. She is fresh out of the academy, there isn't a hair out of place but she is sweating, seems pale.

Means she's seen her first body.

"Hello. If you'll excuse me I need to start studying the scene thank you." This is a shitty attempt at keeping me at bay and Miller knows it. He glances over his shoulder before yelling at a few more officers. He doesn't normally get this worked up.

"I don't think that's a good idea ma'am, I've been told by a superior officer to keep you at a distance." She says, voice clear but her eyes are shifty.

Looking around behind me, almost making me want to check over my shoulder.

Almost.

I pick up a tactic from my raven haired sister and get close in the officer's face. She's unsettled, she swallows taking a small step back.

"Oh? Last I checked, Miller wasn't _my_ superior." I say, pushing her to the side.

Miller sighs once he sees me headed towards the crime scene.

"Bloss, I don't think this is a good idea okay?" He says, hands on his belt. That means he's nervous, I don't see that often but it scares me now.

"What's not a good idea?" I try to see over him, but he's as tall as Brick was.

"You being here, on this scene. I don't think this is a good one for you."

Anxiety rushes up my throat as I try to piece together his phone conversation from a few moments ago. It could be what?

My si….

My sister?

It couldn't be either one,

Not only did I speak to Bubbles this morning

But there isn't a being alive that could kill Buttercup

Except for maybe…

Herself.

Panic surges through my muscles and I push Miller hard enough out of the way that he falls to his ass.

I continue to shove people out of the way.

The photographer stops and stares at me for a moment.

Gaging my reaction and totally in flight or fight.

He chooses flight and leaves me alone with the body.

A body that has dark raven hair.


	10. Chapter 10

**_Four months earlier_**

I pull in air as if I've been underwater for too long. My vison is blurred and I have to squeeze my eyes shut before they readjust.

It doesn't take my brain long to feel the cool stone around my wrists, my ankles, over my solar plexus and finally a three finger thick collar fitting snugly around my throat.

"fuck." I hiss, pulling on them with all my might before panic starts to set in.

"FUUUUUUUUCK." The walls around me shake but the shackles don't even creak as I move. The muscles in my body scream from exertion.

I need to be free.

Things aren't looking too good.

Considering I'm chained to the wall with what are known as 'Antidote X' chains.

Stone chains that not only send energy into your body to disrupt the production of Chemical X but also drain you of your power.

Chains that Blossom and Professor designed for…

I pull harder now, the wall behind me is made of the same stone but adrenaline is a powerful thing. The wall gets the tiniest hairline fracture before the doors in front of me burst open.

My gut clenches while my heart free falls to my feet. All of the tension in my body rushes out of me as I stare at the figure before me.

The air in the room cracks and his eyes glow. He's livid, angrier than I've ever seen.

He's huffing as if he's out of breath.

He exhales slowly before flipping a switch, now he's cool and collected.

Though a vein still sticks out in his throat, his broad shoulders are bare and glistening with sweat.

But what really pulls me into this personal Hell is the scar.

The giant patch of skin that looks as if it's still melted mixed in with deep, angry fissures sits over his sternum, closer to the left side of his body.

I swallow my whimper and try to keep my breathing even.

"So this is hell then." I laugh, "FUCKING PERFECT."

He advances on me, seizing me by the throat and lifting me into the air. The chains give me about a yard or so of a leash. I'm choking from the stone more than his grip. Realization washes over his handsome features that he is not the cause of my pain.

He grips tighter and the stone breaks from around my throat. He has gotten stronger than I could ever imagine.

Tighter still and I choke out a gasp.

A smirk plays on his lips for a moment, damn those lips, damn that stupid smirk.

I've never had any exposure to this stone while I'm sure Butch has had _years'_ worth of exposure.

Meaning he's strong enough to be practically immune

If he isn't already.

I swallow my fear and his hand tightens.

He stares at me hard looking my body up and down.

"What the hell were you thinking?" A growl.

I spit in his face in answer. He slams me harder against the stone. My skull cracks slightly under the force as does the wall behind me.

Stars dance around Butch's face before he comes back into focus.

I couldn't even be given the gift of death.

"Answer me Butterbabe." He purrs in my ear and I squirm.

"I don't know what you're fucking talking about." I gasp, he snarls in response.

"Really? You don't remember starving yourself to death?" His eyes search mine, a hidden emotion flashes before pure rage replaces it.

Another slam, more stars haze my vision.

"It's funny, I found you in an odd condition. I slammed my fist against your door that day and you answered. I had never seen you like…." He thinks, his nasty smirk returning, "Like you were in so much pain. I wanted to stick around. But I hadn't realized you were seeing something. What was it? Guilt personified? And better yet it must have been in the form of me."

My eyes go wide as I realize how many times It was also really him.

When It seemed off, different.

At the door,

In my room with that one nightstand.

In my laptop reflection,

In my room after I felt something on my face,

I growl.

"Not only are you a stalker but you're also narcissistic. I thought that was only Brick's trait." I breathe out, "You think you've affected me that badly? I guess you already forgot that I disposed of you long before I killed yo…"

He slams me again, black comes in from all sides as my ears ring.

"Fuck…" I moan

He laughs,

"The best part is you thought you could kill _me_. I'm a God Butterbabe and some lowly Powerpuff **_girl_** was never going to do me or my brothers in."

My eyes go wide, brothers?

Could Blossom and Bubbles be in trouble?

I thrash against him as best I can but he gives me a swift punch to the gut.

I cough blood onto his face and his smile becomes wider.

"Listen, your sisters aren't the subject at hand right now." He purrs, "You are. It's funny that you thought you could hide from me. That you thought you could out run me by calling on Death. Well you've inspired me Butterbabe."

"Yea to kill yourself?" I spit blood on him again, he laughs.

"You fucking wish." He growls in my ear, he places his forehead against mine, our noses brushing, "No I'm going to do something far better."

His green eyes shine with mischief, with hate.

Fuck.

"I'm going to push you to the brink of Death over and over again, to punish you for thinking you could escape me. Then when Death comes to collect you I will bring you back. As I did earlier. Well really I owe the favor to Brick. So I promised him the first round."

I use all the strength in my legs to rip the chains from the wall, I bring my feet between us and horse kick him square in the chest.

He slides back a few feet.

"There's the Buttercup I know." His smile is beyond devilish, "Not the one I found shriveled up."

I'm pulled back as the chains reduce in length, pulling back into the wall. I slam hard against the stone.

Butch smiles as he saunters over to me.

With icy rage.

My least favorite kind with him. This is the type of rage where he's had time to think over his plan.

This isn't out of reaction to emotions.

This is out of festering thoughts.

He's had five years now to figure it the fuck out.

He pulls me to my feet by holding onto my chin,

I try to catch my breath. I'm already beginning to crack,

I can't handle this emotionally right now and it must show in my eyes.

Because for one moment,

For **_one_** split second I think I see something that cannot be there

At least not for me anymore.

I think I see worry.

But it doesn't matter, he squashes any inkling I thought it was by slamming me down into the ground hard enough that my skull splits open. Eyes filled with raw emotion and rage.

"That's the Butch I know." I snarl as my world closes in on me, leaving me with sweet nothingness.

 _I watch my flesh melt from my fingertips as Brick slowly submerges my right arm in acid._

 _Colors of blood and sun kissed skin swirl in the clear mixture as he pushes my hand down to my wrist._

 _Skin pulls away from muscle,_

 _Muscle pulls away from bone,_

 _And bone turns into nothing._

 _"This is my special mixture do you like it?" He laughs, while my stomach churns._

 _It is utterly agonizing._

 _As if I was being digested alive._

 _He does it up to my shoulder before stopping._

 _I bite back every scream,_

 _My bottom lip half chewed off from it._

 _He lets my arm re-grow to the elbow before starting the process over again._

 _He is too impatient to wait for the complex parts of a wrist and fingers._

 _He sighs out of boredom because I'm no longer screaming._

 _Getting used to the pain,_

 _Because in the end I guess this is what I deserve_

 _When I took more than three lives that day._

 _I took six._

 _Six complicated and deeply intertwined lives._

 _His dark red eyes bore into my lime green orbs._

 _Loathing and boredom meld together into one._

 _As they have been these past two weeks._

 _He pulls out his favorite blade._

 _It's made of the same 'Antidote X' stone and slides it across my throat._

It isn't fun being in Brick's 'care'.

But I'd rather it be Brick than Butch.

With how Brick is treating me I don't think I could handle Butch.

That's saying something.

Torture is his specialty.

"Wake up." A low hiss. Brick no less. I've been dead and revived too many times to count.

So many times that the nausea doesn't bother me as much as it should now. That I am now so familiar with Death's face that I could draw her.

How beautiful she is,

How cruel as she laughs when I am pulled back to the world of the living.

I've been trying not to react over the past three months but it's hard.

Brick knows my tender spots, no thanks to his dark haired brother.

Whom I haven't seen or heard of since our first meeting.

"Time to eat." He snarls. I stare blankly at my food. If you can even call it that. I'm only getting rations big enough to keep me alive.

"If you don't eat then I'll have to get out the feeding tube again."

I still don't react. He takes a knife from his belt and stabs me right in the pectoral, just below my collar bone. I smile in response.

"Be sure to twist it this time." I purr, I've had to adapt. He doesn't like it when I'm a smart ass and I refuse to give him the satisfaction of my pain.

He slices my cheek open faster than I can blink. The knife scrapes into my teeth as he does it.

"Careful. Or you'll lose your eye like my brother."

I bare my teeth.

Brick stands tall, hair braided down his back.

"What's your real goal here? If you want revenge why haven't you attacked Blossom? She stood idle, watching every detail of your death." I need to bait him into answers. In moments that he's thought I was passed out I would hear him pacing, muttering Blossom's name.

Fucking freak.

But if he's doing that, it means he doesn't have Blossom. Otherwise he wouldn't be wasting so much of his time on me. Regardless if he's angry with her or not.

He smiles and grabs a fistful of my hair.

"My real goal? Oh I plan to have your sister right back in my arms. Where she belongs." He snarls in my face.

"Oh and destroying me is going to make her come running?" I spit, cheek healed but he slices it open again.

"What scars will show on you?" He laughs, "I can fix you up as many times as I like."

He punches me hard in my filleted cheek, knocking me over in the chair. His boot rests on my temple as the pressure increases, skull creaking.

"Once Butch lets me kill you for good, I'll leave your body out in the street for her to find. She'll blame Butch first thing. Considering there have been sightings of him."

"You've been spotted too 'Red Devil'." I snort, "It's obvious that it's your work out there on the streets, the ones you're leaving for Blossom."

My skull crunches, my orbital bone shattered once again.

What Brick doesn't know is that every time he breaks one of my bones, that every cut he makes will heal that much faster.

That the longer I'm exposed to this stone the better my chances of escaping are.

"Butch doesn't like to pose the bodies. That's not his style," Blood rushes into my mouth and I spit at his feet, "Butch likes to _destroy_ beyond recognition."

"SHUT UP!" He rears back his foot and connects it to my ribs, causing myself and the chair to skid across the room. Slamming against the Antidote X wall hard enough that the chair shatters. I rip my arms free from the wall, crushing the chains to my throat and mid-section to dust.

Brick looks startled and I smile. I rush for him, I jump and land a flying kick to his chest.

I hear ribs crack from the impact and he lands hard on the floor.

Hard enough that he bounces a full six inches.

I curb stomp him for good measure but he's still quick on his feet. I make a run for the door.

Part of his torture is to leave the door wide open.

Arrogant asshat.

I skid into the hall way and make a hard left, hoping

PRAYING

That this is the way out. I'm sprinting full speed and I can still feel the effect of the stone.

I'm sluggish, tired.

And crushing the stone and ripping free of the wall has got me almost breathless and I've barely made it a mile. Who knows how big this fucking hell hole is. I glance over my shoulder too see how much ground I've gained.

It isn't much I see Brick round the corner, running. Not bothering to fly after me. Smiling a nasty wide smile.

Enjoying the chase.

Before I can face forward I run into something solid enough to knock me on my ass.

I'm fearful to look, I could have gone to a dead end. It would explain why he didn't bother flying after me. I can't go back to Brick now.

I face fear head on and open my lime eyes to be met with forest green ones looking over a bare broad shoulder.

He turns around, curious and I take advantage of an emotion that isn't loathing or rage.

I wrap my arms around him, curling myself into his chest, scar and all.

The second my cheek touches his skin I let out a whimper.

I feel his body react, arms move around me protectively, he pushes me behind him as he faces his red head brother.

That part wasn't fake.

His skin feels like a haven, safe, familiar smell of pine, high atmosphere air.

Sweat as if he's been working out, almost to the point of exhaustion.

I shudder behind him, from a mixture of fear and pleasure as the scent brings up old memories.

My emotions are on high, flight and fight arguing over what I should do.

Leaving me a jittering mess of draining adrenaline.

My body says I'm safe here but my mind screams that I am **not**.

"Good you've gotten the girl." Brick smiles, "Hand her over. If she thought the last test was bad she hasn't seen Hell yet."

The hallway suddenly feels small, my body slowly trying to adjust my chemical X levels, while two perfectly strong super humans stare each other down.

"Oh? Is that so?" Butch asks, "I see you're having fun."

"Oh I am brother," Brick starts but is cut off by Butch's hand closing around his lean throat. I blink not even realizing that he moved from my shaking fingertips.

"I think you're forgetting whose toy she is." Butch snarls close to Brick's face.

"You said I could have the first round." He gasps and Butch grips tighter. Bruises bloom under his strong hand.

"How long do you plan the first round to be?" He asks with the cool rage, "It's been five months now. I believe we've had our fun."

"But Boomer hasn't and you haven't…"He starts but Butch's vice constricts enough that Brick's face turns bright red before deepening into a dark shade of blue. Brick claws at his brother's hand. Taking chunks of skin but it doesn't faze Butch at all.

"Then it's Boomer's turn." He slams Brick into the ground, "I want to go last, I want to savor it."

He turns to me, a nasty smile plays on his lips.

"It's time I deliver you to the dumbest of the dumb." He smirks, hand glowing green on my cheek. I feel the muscle regrow and the skin pull towards itself before my cheek is finally one again. His eyes rover over my body and suddenly I feel over exposed in my shredded clothes and dirty underwear. They narrow as he places his hand on the nape of my neck. Tight enough that the vertebra groan, he loosens his hand and my skin begins to sing. Relishing every soft callus in his strong hand.

Fucking shit ass muscle memory.

I swallow unable to speak. I think briefly about trying to get away, about sucker punching this bitch in his handsome ass face.

I glance up and I feel totally drained. I feel his power radiating off of him, along with his rage.

His level is higher than I remember and my mind is taken to a far off memory.

I remember breaking his arms, which should have given me ten to fifteen minutes depending on how high his adrenaline, rage and chemical x levels were. At the time it would have given me enough time to grab Blossom from Brick's grip and high tale it out of there.

It took under two minutes before those strong arms were wrapped around me, crushing me like a boa constrictor with a meal.

 _"How?" I growl, trying to elbow him in the mouth._

 _"Heh, it's called training Butterbabe." His voice is like velvet in my ear, "I've been breaking and re-breaking my bones since I was thirteen."_

 _I feel his lips curve upward against my ear._

 _Six whole years._

 _The thought of it makes me shudder._

 _"I love it when you do that." He purrs, lips finding my ear lobe. I try to lean away from him, leaving an opening to my neck. He takes a rough bite, leaving bruises but no punctured skin._

 _"You'd know your body if you just explored it." He laughs as my cheeks brighten red._

 _"Come on you think Blossom and Brick are actually fighting?" I follow where his eyes must be looking. The two red heads arguing mid-air like us. Bodies half entangled._

 _"It's an excuse for them to be so close to one another. For their skin to touch. See Bubbles and Boomer figured it out. There's a pull between us counterparts. They feel it and can't resist it. They_ _ **choose**_ _not to fight it. Brick and Blossom, well their resolve is beginning to dissolve." I suddenly feel hyper aware of Butch's hands, of how they are resting flat against my bare stomach, of how I react to his voice. My thighs quiver and my stomach clenches when I feel his breath hot against my ear. I try to push his arms off of me._

 _"It won't be too much longer before they fall." He whispers, sending shivers down my spine, "It won't be too much longer before we crash and burn."_

 _He lets go of me then and I rush for Blossom. I kick Brick in the face, jaw breaking on impact before I latch onto my sister and fly high into the clouds. My heart beating faster than it should._

"Did you hear me Buttercup?" His lips are close to my ear and my body reacts to how he says my name. I grit my teeth and twist my face trying to feel some other way than what I do now.

"No I didn't." I half snarl. He smirks, standing tall before opening the door we are suddenly standing in front of.

I'm hit with a wave of his scent. This must be his bedroom.

Shit why didn't I pay attention to my surroundings instead of getting caught up in some fucking memory?

"Let me get you a shirt so you can be more presentable to Boomer," He says before slipping away into the bedroom, "No one wants damaged goods."

My heart falls into my stomach. It appears behind me for the first time in months. Though no longer holding Butch's form.

It's back to its ghostly black silhouette.

" **He's right about one thing, No one likes damaged goods. Not even him.** "


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N**

 **Y'all sorry I suck and never add to anything. Read, review and enjoy!**

Blossom~

I set my empty tea cup down with shaking hands. I pace behind the coffee table and examine the evidence of the case. I keep trying to convince myself that this isn't Buttercup, that my keen eyes should know her jaw line and facial structure a mile away. But her appearance has changed so much….

And pushing her to the back of my mind for a year and half didn't help either.

I stare down at the photo, I'm expecting results from the blood work in a few hours, and then I will know. If there are no traces of Chemical X in her bone marrow than I know that this raven haired copy is nothing but that

A copy.

Plenty of women changed their appearances and even would go as far as plastic surgery to imitate my sisters and myself. I have seen more Bubbles in recent years than I ever had. Especially among older women.

I searched all over the Buttercup look alike for identifying marks such as her tattoos and scars but everywhere that one should be was a scabbed over mess of skin.

There were scars I had never seen on Buttercup before that were on the look alike.

Her throat was littered with deep scars, as if she wore a collar. Matching scars glistened on her wrists as if she were cuffed. I bite my lip and stare, her blood did have chemical X in it.

But anyone can inject someone with X

If X is present in her marrow cells during a mitosis stage than….than I'm staring at my sister.

I swallow the rising bile,

Once,

Twice.

I am about to lose what little ginger tea I had in my stomach when I hear a board shifting in my kitchen.

The kind of sound that floor boards make when something or someone walks across them.

I have lived in this townhouse by myself since the boys passing and I do not have an overweight pet that I pity feed.

I stand still for a moment and listen, my ears are straining to hear the silence in the kitchen. I block out the whispers in the house next door and the voices of the people on the street. I hear a glass _tink_ as if being set down. I hover to avoid stress on the floor boards and quickly fly into the kitchen,

No one is there.

Nothing is there.

Just the kettle on the stove. I take a few minutes to catch my breath and check the back door.

Locked, Kitchen window.

Locked, sil covered in dust from my absence.

I return to my work, Sheriff Thompson's laptop untouched. I stole it in hopes that there would be clues or a lead for who this serial killer is. I remember Buttercup getting an email from him, something about a job. She used to do profiling in her time between books.

I notice my tea cup, half filled. Odd I thought I had finished it but maybe I hadn't.

I haven't really been finishing anything food or drink wise since arriving on scene.

I down the tea before cracking into Thompson's computer. It isn't hard and he should really change the password. Anyone who really knows him would be able to crack into his files, 02/21/XX the anniversary date of his late wife and daughter.

I search for half an hour before I find a hidden file. I try the date again but no luck. I think hard and sift through memories of things that Thompson has mentioned in passing.

I breathe out and type in the date of the first serial murder, the older one where they body was a mess.

It works and the screen begins to swim. These aren't tears, I haven't even really begun to look at whatever it is that I've opened. I only get to see a mug shot of a graying Mojo Jojo before I pass out on the couch.

I vaguely recall the smell of clay and a dark figure staring over me before I hear a voice in my ear.

The voice of a ghost.

" ** _What ever happened to our…_** "

But when I come to in the morning I can't recall the last word.

Buttercup~

Life with Boomer is different from being in Brick's care that's for sure. In the few weeks that I've lived with Boomer I've learned that he has a softer approach to things. He asks that I not be restrained when in his care. Brick argued that I at least need to wear the onyx Antidote X stone while at the dinner table. This is the same level of stone that Butch uses to _train_ with.

The stone is so deafening that I cannot even think of moving a fork anywhere near my mouth, so I chose not to eat. Not to mention the nausea that is now constantly sitting in my stomach.

Again I do not remember the last time I actually ate.

I stare down at the meal, seated between Boomer and Butch. I get the joy of staring down Brick as It looms behind him. Its smile wide as it places its hands heavily on Brick.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" Brick snarls, half lunging across the table but I don't flinch. My eyes lock onto his.

"A pathetic excuse of a super human." I smile.

He sends his favorite blade into my hand, pinning it to the table.

"Hey!" Boomer shouts, but I hold eye contact as Brick twists it before removing it. My wound doesn't even begin to heal because of these onyx chains.

" **He's fun, this one.** " I stare at it another moment, its smile gains sharp teeth. " **Maybe I should take on my old form.** " It says making his way behind Butch, large claws rest on Butch's shoulders and I swear I see it tear into his shirt, his skin. Exposing muscle.

Butch side eyes me but then does as he normally does, ignores me.

When will this hell end?

"Buttercup."

Will I forever be stuck under the thumb of those I have killed?

"Buttercup."

Of vengeful ghosts who want nothing more than to watch me wither just to breathe life into me?

"Buttercup."

I'm not sure how many more times I can break.

"Buttercup, Boomer is speaking to you." Butch's voice brings me back to the present, "He's called your name three times now."

My mouth makes a small o when I look towards Boomer, his eyes soften in understanding.

"Are you okay?" His hand hovers over mine and I nod, moving it away slowly. I don't want to aggravate the stone or my stomach.

I move my hands to my lap and stare at the gaping hole. I pick at the surrounding skin, just to irritate it. Just to feel something other than the weighted void in my chest.

I'm over it,

I'm over all of it

And for a second I wonder if I could take Brick's favorite knife and slice this throat wide open with these stones on.

Of course I would have to get far enough away to not be resurrected

But

It's

A

Good

Thought

I stare at the knife sitting out on the table with my blood dripping from it.

The knife whispers my name while it screams behind Butch.

" **Good luck getting it from him.** " It laughs and my eyes return to the wound in my hand.

It will heal once I'm in the shower,

Ten minutes maybe.

I go back to irritating it.

Pulling severed tendons out of the wound, causing my fingers to twitch in response.

One.

Two.

A strong hand grips my right arm and I don't have to look up to know who it is. It isn't long before his lips are pressed against my ear.

"Enough." He hisses,

Though I thought he would be squirming in his seat with pleasure from my self-mutilation.

Instead his eyes are hard, angry. Giving me a warning.

But what can someone do to someone who **_wants_** to die?

Well I guess bringing me back to life is what they have over my head.

So I listen

For now.

I may or may not pick at it later.

Boomer is hesitant as he reaches for the small of my back, I feel his hand hover over the spot, so close it tingles for a second before he finally decides to rest it there. I feel him shudder, the onyx bothering him though not directly touching him. Boomer sighs out, eyes lingering on my wound as we make our way back to his suite. He's more or less guiding me as my eyes begin to slowly close. I haven't really slept since I got here.

Can you blame me?

My eyes drift shut and I count our footsteps

 _Step-step_

 _Step-step_

 _Step-step Step-step_

But then another set is added. My eyes snap open.

I turn standing in a defensive pose waiting for whoever will round the corner. Boomer stands behind me and turns slowly, surprised by my quick movements.

It's Butch who rounds the corner, Boomer presses his hand to my back and I debate if I should relax. He sees I'm still rigid and moves me behind him.

A nice gesture.

Though useless against Butch.

But still a gesture.

I stare at him through half lidded eyes digging my fingers into my wound to keep me alert. I used a lot of energy just to get into a good stance. His eyes are glued on me, nostrils flared before he takes a calming breath.

"You need to close that wound or it will never heal." Butch growls, pointing my way. Boomer's eyes follow and he gently takes my now bloody fingers out. Sweat forms on his brow as he holds my hand gently. It's clear the manacles are already taking their toll; he squeezes his eyes shut in concentration as he tries to heal me. Nothing happens except for a lone blue bolt that jolts out between our skin and then nothing. He swallows.

As if literally swallowing his pride before turning to his brother, the front of his collar damp.

Blue eyes shining defeat.

"I can't, I can't heal her."

"I told you that you need to build up your tolerance." Butch sighs, pushing him aside. Butch assesses me, eye lingering everywhere by my face.

Avoiding me as he's been doing.

It stands behind him, towering a full head taller. Smiling its too wide sharp toothed smile.

I feel as if Butch is mocking me.

Relishing my pain,

Savoring how I have done the job for him.

Torturing myself until I am no longer whole.

Until I am broken

Damaged

Goods.

My fingers fly to the wound quickly, to reduce the sound in my head, pain sings but it does not drown it out.

" **He can't even stand to look you in the face, damaged goods."**

I twist harder before a gruff hand grips my wrist hard enough that the onyx manacle shatters, dusting the floor by our feet. I look up to be greeted by angry deep green eyes.

"Enough." He hisses, his rough hands gently cradling mine before glowing a soft green.

I notice the onyx ring on his middle finger, so black it seems to swallow all of the surrounding light. I look to the cuff on my right wrist and see that it is only charcoal grey in comparison. I swallow, even as his ring nears my skin I feel it sapping more energy off of me than I can manage. My knees sway and he catches me with his right hand.

"Sorry." He murmurs, his breath tickling my ear and despite my mind screaming not to, I lean into him. He supports me a moment longer than he needs to before righting me and placing me in Boomer's arms. He gives Boomer a stern look before purposely grabbing him with his left hand. His skin sizzles under the touch of the ring even through the material of his shirt. His face turns from pale to green in seconds.

Butch whispers something low enough that I can't catch it but I can tell by not only the tone but by Boomer's worsening face that whatever it is it's a threat.

One he plans to keep good on.

He releases him and rounds the corner before Boomer lets out a low hiss.

When we return to the room he removes his long sleeve shirt to reveal a nasty festering welt that is slowly healing. I look to my left wrist eyeing the small faint scars left by the charcoal grey chains. My right wrist and throat must have matching ones. I swallow, pulling at the one around my throat. I am suddenly hyper away of it; it ghosts the feeling of a sweater that feels too tight.

Choking you but not.

Boomer takes notice and closes the distance between us.

"Here let me help." He soothes. I don't flinch as his cool hands circle to the back of my neck. He takes the key from his wrist and pops the collar right off.

The rules are as follows according to Brick;

The wrist, ankle and neck collar should never be removed.

Ever.

Let him know if I am building up tolerance too quickly

And lastly

Kill her should she make an escape or strike.

Boomer oddly enough does not listen to these rules. He treats me as an old friend, so I don't try to escape or strike. My eyes linger on the scars that litter his throat and I swallow down the shame. He releases my right wrist and bends over to get my ankles.

This is the most free I have felt while here. Boomer says his room should feel like a sanctuary. He leaves me unchained except when we go to bed. He lets me stand in the shower for as long as I like, even if it meant the hot water going out.

Which hasn't happened yet and the longest shower I've taken was an hour and a half.

He announced to me that he would be peaking behind the curtain. I had my back to him peered over my shoulder as he pulled back the curtain to a pose no man could refuse but he looked me straight in the eye and blushed.

Fucking blushed.

As if I wouldn't be showering naked.

He apologized and I wonder how he and my sister ever had sex.

I know they did.

I was unfortunate enough to hear it from time to time.

I stretch before crashing onto Boomer's bed. Boomer makes his way to the bathroom to start a hot shower for me. He even puts a fancy shower tablet in near the drain for me.

He thinks he's doing it to be nice I think he's doing it to make me smell like Bubbles.

But can I blame him? I'm the closest thing he can get to Bubbles now.

I relish the hot water as it washes over me. I stand under the steamy stream for over a half an hour, just long enough that the nausea finally subsides. It stands quietly behind me, murmuring over fading scars and the changes my body has made.

I feel like a walking skeleton,

I'm okay with that though.

I'm closer to Death this way.

Boomer begs me to eat but the nausea and It keep my appetite away.

I turn off the water and open the curtain quickly. Boomer sits on the sink vanity with a towel held towards me. His deep blue eyes locked to mine.

Always modest.

Though I catch them lingering on my exposed ribs every now and again.

He's usually good about keeping his expression neutral.

But today his lips frown.

Hard.

" **Even the dumbest of the dumb can see how disgusting you are**."

I wrap the towel around me, trying hard not to feel self-conscious. Boomer lays out my clean outfit and turns his back to me.

I briefly think about how hard or easy it would be to snap his neck.

But I can't bring myself to make the same mistake twice.

Instead I lift the soft black t-shirt over my head, my short raven hair leaving droplets behind. I shimmy on the black leggings and clear my throat.

Boomer opens the door and gestures for me to go first.

Almost as if he sensed my ill will towards him.

My stomach growls loudly and I frown hard, just wanting to sink into the sheets and re-read the only book Boomer has for the hundredth time.

"Maybe we should get you something to eat?" Boomer says softly, eyes glancing at the clock.

I go to answer but my stomach beats me to it by growling louder than before.

"We can keep the chains off. I trust you." Boomer's eyes have this way of sparkling, even in the dark.

He is pure like his counterpart.

Much more pure than me.

"You really shouldn't." I give him a hard look and he rolls his eyes.

"Always dramatic." He sighs, "I'll keep them in my pocket for now, in case Brick shows up. I know they make drain you of your appetite and super human or not you need to eat."

He gently grabs my wrist guiding me back down the long hall.

When we reach the kitchen I realize how famished I really am. Boomer makes me a peanut butter sandwich, he holds the first one out to me.

"Creamy peanut butter like you like. I think only Bubbles and I like crunchy." I take the sandwich and murmur a thank you. I hoist myself on the counter and wait as patiently as I can for the next one. As I eat Boomer's eyes linger to the only window I've seen since I been here. It's raining, naturally with my luck.

"Let's watch a movie." He says gently pulling me off the counter to my feet.

"What no." I say, that was something he and Bubbles did.

They'd force all six of us to "enjoy" a movie on rainy days once things settled down between all of us.

"Please?" I swear I almost hear his voice break. I find his eyes and they shine a little more than normal.

Near the corners.

I sigh, frustrated.

"Fine."

He drags me to the couch and pulls a blanket over both of us. I give him a side glance as he places his arm over the back of the couch behind me. After half an hour the darkness of the room begins to relax me and I start to doze.

Boomer's arm leaves the back of the couch and finds my shoulders, gently pulling me to his chest.

I go to shove him away harshly but the look in his eyes stop me. Those blue eyes are seeing me as someone else.

As someone he should be doing this with.

But now he can't

Because a ghost can never hold their lover again no matter how alive they feel.

It's my fault.

I made him the ghost.

"Sorry." He clears his throat, "Thought it would help. You haven't slept in weeks, or none that I've seen."

I stare him down hard, my resolve draining from me as exhaustion pulls harder at my consciousness.

"Can we just pretend….for one moment that we…." His eyes linger before he closes them.

It's quiet except for the actor's voices gently surrounding us,

Blanketing us in intimacy.

He collects his thoughts for a moment longer. He keeps his eyes closed as he speaks.

"Can we just pretend that you're _her_ and I'm _him_? Nothing more than this moment here, help me forget that I have to watch from afar. That my life is hell."

"Okay." He goes to open his eyes, shocked that I would actual agree, "No keep them closed, and just listen to me for now."

He obeys.

I could take this opportunity to escape,

To repeat history and end his life.

I'm strong enough to do it, I haven't had the chains on for a few hours and my body feels light as a feather.

I would be faster than him

Stronger than him

And yet I don't. I get off the couch and he goes to open his eyes. I place my hand over his eyes, his soft lashes tickle my palm.

"Trust me." I say and he nods. I remove my hand and he waits patiently.

"Rest your back against the arm of the couch and leave your legs open a little." I say breathy, and I watch his Adam's apple bob.

I wonder for a moment where his mind is and laugh to myself.

Has Bubbles dominated him in the past?

I laugh again because I can picture it.

I crawl in between his legs and lie on my side. I snuggle into his chest as I pull the blanket up to my shoulders. Boomer finally relaxes and places his arm on my shoulder.

Hand playing with my hair for a moment.

"Now you can watch the rest of the movie and I'll trust you enough to fall asleep."

And he does. Hand absently petting me while my eyes grow heavy.

Boomer isn't that different from Butch. His arms are toned, just not as muscular, same with his chest. His stomach a bit cushier, maybe even more comfortable.

His smell it was really sets him apart. Like open air, a grassy meadow. I can almost smell Bubbles through him. Flowers, fresh air, sunshine.

Their scents always complimented each other.

It's not long before I fall into what feels like a deep sleep.

" _Shhhhhh_ " I hear Boomer shush and my eyes flutter. A dark figure stands in the living room.

"This is the first time she's slept." I hear him whisper but only through his chest, "I'm doing as you asked."

I groan, irritated that he's talking and I feel him go rigid for a second as I snuggle deeper into the blankets.

Little did I know that this nap would fuck me over later.

I lie awake as Boomer snores beside me.

The clock on his nightstand burns red 12:00am and I watch it change to 1:50am in a blink of an eye. I keep my eyes closed and finally fall asleep.

 _Boomer was always the easiest to beat, though I feel as if he just gave up, his eyes lingering on Bubbles. He died as if it was his duty._

 _My arms are stained with blood up to my elbows. Brick is next as Butch stares in horror. Butch goes to attack but Him paralyzes him._

 _"_ _ **Let's see how this plays out hmmmm"**_

 _I crack my neck and go after Brick hard. I don't give myself time to mourn over a friend, to morn for my sister's loss or the next two I'm about to take._

 _He's frantic, still in shock as he swings and misses finally I pin him to the ground and I want him to go like Boomer, easily._

 _Quietly._

 _"BRICK LISTEN. YOU THINK I'M DOING THIS FOR FUN? THIS IS FOR ALL OF HUMANITY, FOR BLOSSOM!" I shout, voice raw from emotion, "For your unborn child that Blossom carries."_

 _Brick's eyes go wide and they find Blossom. She's standing like a statue, eyes glued on us both and for once in her life she doesn't know what to do. What action to take to make this better, to be the Fearless Leader._

 _But her title fails her as she stands frozen._

 _I finish Brick off quickly after that and stand over his body huffing. Knowing what's coming for me._

 _It comes quicker than I expect and Butch is on top of me the second Him gives him his body back. He rears back and slams his fists into my face harder and harder with each swing. Tears hit my face and I hear his breathing hitch. I'm about to lose my momentum._

 _About to let him punish me for everything that I've done but then I hear Blossom and Bubbles sob and I know what I have to do._

 _I have to kill the man I love._

I wake breathless and gasping. Boomer lies still, unbothered as I claw at my closing throat. I rise quickly and slip into the curving hallway. I clutch at my throat as I slide down the door and sit on my almost bare ass in the bright corridor. I take a few moments to catch my breath before I hear footsteps coming from down the hall. Boomer's bedroom is the first in the wing while Brick and Butch's rooms lie deeper.

Whichever brother I know that I don't want to meet either. I slip into the bedroom and the door makes the softest of clicks. The footsteps begin to slow and stop in front of the door.

I do the only thing I can think of to make a nosy person move along. I fake moan.

I make it soft as if it is coming from the bed and not right behind the door. The brother standing in the hall moves after a few seconds of moaning and I only stop when I can't hear the footfalls anymore.

I crawl into bed and cry silently, haunted by the fresh memories.

The tang of blood sits in my mouth and the smell lives in my nostrils now.

It looms, switching between the form of itself and Butch.

It leans close, finally choosing Butch's form, icy fingers ghost my cheeks.

" **Cry a little harder for me Butterbabe**."


	12. Chapter 12

**AN It's been awhile, I've tweaked part of this chapter. Please read and review. As always enjoy**

Buttercup~

Boomer has me in the courtyard of this weird compound the boys call home.

Or maybe they are men now?

Boomer has begged for me to get some sun time from Brick. Who at first was so against the idea he threatened to kill me for good. I tried not to perk up at the empty promise. Through the entire conversation I could feel Butch's dark eyes on me. He leans from the wall when the threat leaves Brick's mouth to cut him off as he describes what could have been my death.

A message,

To my sisters.

To Blossom.

Butch's eyes burn holes into my back and I feel his every move, hyperaware of his smothering presence.

Because to me he is the **_only_** threat in the room. He lingers behind me and I can feel his ring even though it's his right hand hovering over my skin. He slinks his arm around me and I shudder.

From fear

From pleasure.

"Brick let me remind you that this is **_my_** toy." He snarls, before leaning his head on mine, "It's a grand idea Booms, let's go tomorrow."

So here we are. I bask in the sun but Butch's eyes keep me from closing my own. He stands in the shade of a tree a few feet away.

Boomer sits beside me on a fluffed blanket. He has a basket of food and has me limited to just my collar of onyx. Goose bumps prickle my skin as it sits much too close to me. I can feel its breath on the nape of my neck as it whispers sweet nothings to me in Butch's voice, continuing to steal his form.

" **Girl when will you get it through your head that they are just toying with you. He said so himself. You're his toy.** "

" **It's funny that you think Boomer** ** _actually_** **cares about you. He couldn't care less if you eat, to him you're nothing but a gateway to his love.**

Boomer beams at me as I study him, I fake a half smile back as he places small slices of meat, crackers and some fruit on a plate for me.

 **"Just kidding you're just an ugly reminder of a future he can never have.** "

I swallow down my thank you and set it to the other side of me. I bite my lip, I have a lot of questions I want to ask him.

Questions that have been bubbling to the surface since I first came to him.

"Do you ever wish I was never born? That it was just my sisters who were made?" I whisper.

The question has caught him off guard, his handsome features are scrunched from thought.

" **Of course he does. Butch would be better off without you too. He could have found a counterpart** ** _worthy_** **of him.** "

After several long moments of silence I think him too polite to answer. That he really does feel like the whole world would have been better off without me.

How could the toughest fighter feel this way about herself?

Easy, you strip her of her anger leaving her with nothing but misguided sadness.

I don't shrink in on myself though I want to.

Instead I lean my face towards the sun. Trying to enjoy what is going to be the last time I feel it. I get lost in my thoughts. Letting myself think of happier times with my sisters but it won't bring a smile to my lips.

"No." Boomer's voice pulls me from my thoughts.

"What?" I ask. His dark blue eyes lock with my own.

"No." He repeats himself, "I'm glad you were born."

It's my turn to scrunch up my features.

"You don't mean that." I scoff returning my face to the sun.

"No, I do mean it." Boomer says, "If you weren't on this Earth who knows where your sisters would be now. Where anyone would be."

"Happy." I bite out, but he scoffs.

"If that's what you think." He sips on some of the wine he brought, a bottle Bubbles would have loved as it would complement even the weather.

"You should really eat. Especially after the night you had."

I go into a cold sweat, my crying has never woken him up before.

"I heard you retching after a nightmare." He whispers so low I strain to hear him. Subconsciously I look to Butch to see if he's heard of my weakness.

I only dreamt of his dull, faded green eyes last night.

Well eye since I held the other tightly. The chewy taste of his heart lingers on my lips even now.

His eyes are closed, his face twisted in a grimace from whatever thought he is having.

I frown and return to Boomer.

"I wasn't retching."

"You were, it was awful but I didn't help. I know how you hate being vulnerable." Another sip, "A certain six foot four man does too."

I don't need to compare the boy's heights in my head to know who he's talking about.

I look over my shoulder again and watch him a few moments more.

His dark green eyes open and I immediately look away. The tree groans from either his weight or the rush of wind twisting up my hair.

I wonder if he heard Boomer.

His lingering eyes tell me no. It sits in front of me, teasing me with a relaxed looking Butch.

Imitating a memory.

" **I love you.** " It says, face towards the sun, " **More than you can even imagine, and I will do anything to ensure that you are safe. Happy.** "

I swallow, staring at his wispy image. I stare long enough that my eyes burn.

That is before the real one sits before me with an angry grunt.

"Share." He says to me holding out his hand. I give him the whole plate and shrink towards Boomer.

My heart is racing out of my chest and I hate how the butterflies turn into churning maggots in my stomach looking at him.

"Thanks." He growls, turning his profile to me. Like in my memory.

I look to Boomer who seems as surprised as I am. I scoot closer, Boomer lifts his arm and I stare at the empty space.

My light eyes flickering back to the raven haired figure before us and I shake my head no.

Boomer is heading down a very slippery slope.

I cannot afford for him to pull me down with him. He is going to get himself killed.

Again.

My eyes stay on his toned back, I can hear his heartbeat.

I swallow my emotions while it laughs behind me.

After a few minutes realization washes over Boomer while an Oh escapes his lips.

"I brought your favorite." Boomer says, digging around in the small basket that seems to be bottomless, "I remember Bubbles used to buy these by the bushel when you came to visit us."

After much rummaging for what feels like hours Boomer produces a small bag of deep red cherries. My eyes are no longer fixated at the raven haired figure before me but on the bag of sweating cold cherries.

A cold sweat settles over me as images flash through my mind.

The first being a good memory.

A familiar lusty growl followed by the gruff voice saying "I love tasting cherry on your lips."

The second being bad.

My mouth dries up as I feel the ghost of the cherries' texture in my mouth, the sweet taste turns bitter.

The texture of the fruit turns a little meatier, reminding me of the forbidden fruit I bit into a few years ago.

I swallow the bile rising in my throat and bite my lip to keep the whimper from escaping.

I bite it hard enough that I taste pennies.

" **Oh I love the taste of copper on your lips.** " It purrs in Butch's voice, I bite harder worsening the situation. The taste only reminds me that much more of the forbidden fruit.

I hear Butch suppress a growl and I jump when his rough warm fingertips pull my lip from my teeth. I look him square in the face but his deep green eyes are fixated on my mouth. I watch his lips twitch before settling on a snarl. I want to lean into him, I want to, so badly, just curl myself up in his lap under the projection of his strong arms.

Arms that want to tear me apart.

Suddenly I feel shaky under his touch, my mind arguing with my heart.

His eyes scan my face before he bites the inside of his cheek pulling away reluctantly.

There is that emotion again, clouding his eyes.

The one I can't quite place.

Boomer oblivious to our exchange presses a question he shouldn't ask.

"So wait do you not like them anymore?"

Butch's lips twitch again, they part slightly as if he is about to say something.

I realize then that he is trying to save me from the hurt that must be so obvious on my face.

"They remind me of two things, Boomer, the best feeling in the world and the worst." I give a lazy smile; I feel them both studying me as I go on, my voice growing darker.

"The reason why I ate all of those cherries was because I was trying to quit smoking. Finding and spitting the pit gave my mouth something to do. In the early days of me quitting I would eat a bag and a half on my way to Butch's. When I would arrive he would give me a heavy passionate kiss."

"'I love the taste of cherries on your lips.' Is what he would say," I pick a cherry up, letting my fingers roll over the chilled skin, "But it reminds me of my most favorite thing…."

 **"You always ruin everything."** It mocks in Blossom's voice before switching to Bubbles,

 **"Yea Buttercup you kinda do."**

The mocking does nothing but fuel my fire, my rage.

Boomer swallows, his eyes a mixture of curiosity and dread.

But you know what they say.

Curiosity killed the cat.

"It reminds me of the best taste in the world. The forbidden fruit I had the pleasure of tasting not too long ago. It's about the same texture, a weird mix of bitter and yet sweet finished by a metallic taste." Butch's eyes are cold, boring deep holes into my skin. I don't have to look up to see the snarl on his lips.

"What's the forbidden fruit?" Boomer asks timidly. Truly the dumbest of the dumb.

I give Boomer a cruel smile before answering.

"Butch's heart." I purr, popping the cherry in my mouth. The taste is sweet like I remember but it doesn't stop the bile that is rising up my throat or the sweat that beads down my spine but I don't let it show.

Because Buttercup Utonium has no weaknesses.

Especially not for a forest green eyed man.

Blossom~

I wake in a cold sweat, dreaming again of deadly red eyes. I gasp for air, clutching at my throat as if an invisible rope is around it.

I cough and heave fighting to keep air down.

Finally after a few frantic moments I collect myself.

I grab my stomach instinctively.

Something is wrong, very wrong and I'm going to have to go to Buttercup's apartment tonight. I can no longer ignore the nagging feeling in my stomach nor wait for any more inconclusive autopsy results.

Thompson nor Miller will let me into the morgue, going as far as putting up Antidote X stone on all four walls and the door knobs so I won't break in.

Thompson has also threatened to place an X ring on me, with Miller's approval.

Fucking trader.

I grit my teeth and stare at the paper trail in front of me. I finally read those files on Thompson's laptop.

They give me a time and date of Buttercup's last living moments.

I swallow the quickly rising bile.

But not fast enough, I heave my coffee into the nearest trashcan before pulling myself together. I need to pull myself together for Buttercup.

 _PING_

A text from Bubbles asking when we can go to Japan. I will **_NOT_** allow her to go alone, I'm not sure what she will find if the Buttercup sitting in the morgue is just a look alike. I don't know how long it takes our flesh to decompose, I think only Buttercup herself could answer that question.

I now understand why she chose to move so far away.

Away from all of the reminders that lurk in the shadows around Townsville.

Buttercup's last known time 'alive' was 3:30am on a Tuesday in Japan. That's when she sent the deep and very detailed profile of the original serial murders that were going on in Townsville when we were sixteen, it was the boys, mostly Butch.

Well I thought they were mostly Butch until I read more….

" _Victim A's condition varies greatly from B's. Though C's & D's has some like qualities as A and B. I will return to this crucial detail later. A and B's conditions shows two different styles, not only in the way of the killing but the events that happened before and after. A is more cold and calculated, lots of torturing before the murder. A was most likely tortured over a month or so due to the age of some of the scaring that lined her body. I checked further into her social media and all of the diary entries that were submitted into the Townsville PD data base. There were mentions of depression but none of cutting nor any other self-mutilation. _

_It seems like sadistic fun to be had with A that resulted in accidental death thus explaining the pose for A. A lies on her back her arms covering her mutilated face. Blood trails come from her eyes with saved blood clots being glued half way down the cheeks to symbolize tears._

 _While B had a swift death, but there were many postmortem injuries to imitate victim A but this would be a detail that only a trained eye could see. There was not scaring on the victim though there were wounds that could have indicated infliction before death OR, and that's the key word here, they were inflicted moments after death and cauterized closed to make them seem older than they were. B is posed but not in the same poetic sense that comes from A or from D for that matter. B has a copy-cat like sense._

 _A, B, and D indicate that the killer(s) did not know them personally and were picked at random. Here is where C comes into play and shows that B & C are _tremendously _different from A & D._

 _The first indication is the manor of the wounds inflicted on C. They were purposeful and strategic. How to get the most pain out of the victim without them dying. C was with his captive for a few days before the killer could no longer keep their icy rage. Before C felt the passion and rage that the killer had. It's indicated by the cause of death, which was the crushing of the skull by brute force. The killer of C was never caught due to a solid alibi but it's indicated that this is who has done it. Due to the extent that the skull was crushed, ground to dust._

 _Only six beings are capable of doing so and all six had a solid alibi. Only one will be caught killing another that way._

 _A and D were killed by the same person, B and C were killed by the same person but B & A were not. Meaning there are two killers here and not just one. B was a cover up kill to make the pattern seem the same while C is the true nature of the second killer. _

_Butch Jojo is arrested for all four murders, admitting to them before being locked away for three years before escaping. It's later found out that C had put a hit out on one of the Powerpuff girls, Butch must have tortured him for information though he won't say why._

 _Maybe he wants the satisfaction of ending the Powerpuffs himself._

 _But as stated before Butch Jojo didn't murder A & D, these patterns have been around for the other six murders between A & B and the other ten that happened between C & D. The pattern happening now is identical to A & D. Not to mention victims B & C were male while the remaining victims have been female.  
Butch is a passionate, angry person who can only have cold calculated moves with someone he knows, to get information that he wants while his profile does give him the ability to torture victims before death and the characteristics to kill for fun it does not show that he is sending a message beyond one of death. It's tricky to dissect Butch as he is a sadistic person but he prefers his toys living and knows a victim's exact breaking point, whomever killed A did not. _

_B was an attempt to take the scent off of whomever killed A & D, to put the blame on him, while C was his own doing. Motive for this could be family related though Butch Jojo only looks after himself."_

The paragraphs haunt me and recite themselves in my photographic memory every time I close my eyes. Why would she think it was family related? Why would she indicate that it was family? Boomer had been glued to Bubbles at the time while Brick and I were arguing over lab work but I'm not in every alibi that Brick has provided nor is he interviewed for any of the murders after C.

I know of a person who loves to send symbolic messages.

I swallow my suspicion and head out towards Bubbles' apartment.


	13. Hello

Are yall still waiting for updates on these?

let me know if so and ill try to pick it back up.


	14. 13?

Buttercup~

Boomer stares at me, horror clouding his clear sky eyes. I can see tears forming in the corners of them, he bites his lip clearing his throat.

"L..let's go inside now." He stammers, quickly packing the picnic.

Dishes clank from shaking hands.

A strong hand squeezes my wrist and my eyes meet glowing green orbs.

"Why would you say that?" He snarls, "Why the fuck would you upset your only ally here?"

My eyes narrow as the phrase pulls up old memories.

Memories of a fight long forgotten.

I ignore him, my eyes finding the slowly setting sun.

Trying so desperately to enjoy the last time I will ever see it again.

I have a plan, well a general one. Where I piss off the unstable red head as best I can when my blond guardian isn't around.

I'll be honest

I'm trying to die before it is Butch's turn to have me all to himself.

Boomer stands, back to me waiting. Waiting for me to follow him inside.

For a split second I don't move, I think of how easy it would be to kill Boomer a second time around.

But how difficult would it be to kill Butch again?

What will stop me first?

His brute strength

Or my own beating heart?

I'm pulled to my feet with ease, Butch no longer mindful of his grip or black stoned ring. My skin sizzles from its touch and he grips harder with his ringed hand.

I snarl as he pushes me towards Boomer, opting to stay outside.

Determined to watch the ever famous Brick and Blossom sunset.

Boomer and I walk into the kitchen to be met with a fuming Brick. He notices right away that I am unchained.

He snaps, lunging for Boomer. He grabs him by the throat squeezing until blue eyes begin to bulge and suddenly all I see is red.

I rip Brick from Boomer's fading form and slam him against the kitchen floor.

Strength, adrenaline and rage meld together in my blood as I raise my fist to his face once, twice, three times.

Until the motion becomes so familiar that I do not stop.

Not when bones crack and snap beneath my hands.

Not when Boomer jumps to his feet grabbing at me and failing.

Not when the blond rushes back outside.

And surely not when the grunting beneath me stops while blood mists my fast.

It isn't until rough hands pull me from the limp form before I do.

Even then the strong arms press me to their master.

Holding me tight enough that breathing is becoming that much more of a chore.

After sever long and quiet heartbeats does the groaning start again.

"Oh Brick. What did you do?" Butch purrs, but I can hear the slight nervousness in his voice. The one he can hide from his brothers but never from me.

Boomer leans over the eldest, hands glowing bright as they hover over his face.

Healing him enough that his bones shift together and all that is left of his mangled face is swelling with bruising.

I huff, angry that my work has been undone.

"I think it's time Boomer," Butch says darkly, squeezing me tighter and tighter still. My vision begins to spot and I don't fight it.

"No..." Booms gasps, "We can still..."

"No." Butch says solemnly, "We cannot. It's time I took her now."

With that my vision fades to black.


	15. 14

Buttercup~

I've been thinking of ending it for a long time now.

Of finally silencing it

Of stopping the memories of Butch for they haunt me more than anything.

His dark laugh

His wolfish smile

His large misunderstood, misguided heart.

I gag for a minute as the taste and smell of copper flood my senses.

I'm high enough in the atmosphere now that I'm just barely floating beside a few satellites.

Sure I could just float into space until I starved to death.

But no one

No matter how much a sadist or masochist wants to die

A

Slow

Agonizing

Death.

So plummeting from outer space into the lowest valley on planet Earth should do.

If I've done my math right, the force should sever my spinal cord which wouldn't give my body a chance to heal it.

I've got to land just right.

I've dressed myself in my favorites.

Ripped black skinny jeans.

Black crop top that says bitch in Japanese in lime green.

My favorite black choker and black chucks.

And of course that black turtle neck I stole all those years ago.

The one that somehow never stops smelling like him.

Crisp air and musky pine.

I relax my body, I stop thinking of flying and begin to fall backwards. Eyes skyward as I plummet.

The stars are beautiful and I count as many as I can before they ebb into light blue sky.

Boomer's and Bubbles eyes watch over me as I gain speed, fire engulfing my body yet not burning me nor my clothes.

Part of my gift.

Part of my curse.

I am unfazed by the fact that I do not weep.

There are no tears left in this body.

Plus why would one mourn for something they've dreamed of for years.

A decade even.

Faster and faster I fall until I am finally reaching below sea level and when I land in the desert valley in the middle of nowhere I hear a sound.

A sound I've heard all of my life.

One so familiar that it has become some what of a lullaby.

A satisfying snap echoes all around before my world becomes dark.

Quiet.


	16. 15

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

I suck in air sharply as if I've been asleep too long.

My heart races out of my chest as my body buzzes with anticipation.

I strain to listen for movement as I drink in my surroundings.

I am in my bed, tucked nicely away, the window slightly open to let in a cool breeze.

But not damage from the weather how I remembered it last.

No mold festering in the drywall like my mental wounds.

No sopping carpet from months worth of rain and snow.

And surely no damaged walls.

I gently get to my feet.

I am in nothing but underwear and that damned turtle neck.

*His* turtle neck.

It is is nowhere to be found, there is hardly a shadow for it to hid in as the mid day sun floods into my windows.

My bathroom no longer bares a gaping hole to the heavens above.

And I begin to wonder if it was all a dream.

I find my phone shattered on my night stand and vaguely remember the sound of the glass crushing from the force.

Movement catches my eye and I relax as I notice it is only my reflection.

The last time I had seen myself in the mirror was nothing like this

I remember feeling weak.

Feeling tired and broken.

Frail even as my body wasted away before my jade green eyes but right now

I feel normal, healthy even.

My skin no longer paper thin, threatening to rip from bones too sharp.

Muscle mass, hips, thighs and even my tits have returned to me.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

I jump.

The buzzing returning to my body as I rack my brain over what has happened here.

Was I not in my own personal hell?

Did I not just dream of a memory of a botched suicide job?

Or maybe...

Maybe that fall had worked and I AM in hell right now living out my worst misery.

"BUTTERCUP!" A shrill voice calls from the hall.

Its Bubbles. She sounds as if she's been using her ultrasonic scream too much.

"Fuck it let's bust the door down." Blossom now, desperation soaks her tone and seeps into my apartment.

I rush to the door, hand shaking as it hovers over the knob.

Last time I opened this door I was greeted with an illusion.

Will that happen again?

I twist the knob just as Blossom is about to kick the hinges in.

Time goes still as they both stare at me dumbfounded.

They rush for me arms squeezing tightly around me.

Blossom pulls away first, hands fluttering over me checking for non existant injuries.

At least they seem non existant to her as time slows down for me.

I begin to shake as her deft hands lift the sleeves of the black turtle neck revealing scarring.

The type of scar tissue that only those Antidote X chains and make.

I feel around my throat and ghosts of malformed skin glitters from my Adam's apple to the base of my neck.

Panic seeps in as Blossom squeezes me again.

"You're okay. Thank God you're okay." They say in unison.

It lingers in the shadows now.

A haunting smile on its face as it continues to use his body.

His voice.

 **"Yes thank God that you're mine to torture for another day."**


	17. 16

"STOP!!" I scream and fall to my knees. Pulling at my hair as my sister collect around me.

"Buttercup. Buttercup what's wrong?" They plead as I try to replay the last twenty four hours.

I start with the memory of the dream.

My falling to my wishful death four years ago.

That same night I was returned to my own bed.

What was the last thing that happened?

I...did I drink?

Butch was here wasn't it?

Wait I...

I grip onto the Blossom, bruises bloom beneath my fingers, no longer fearful to speak his name.

"Where is Nikola?" She blanches at the name as Bubbles gasps.

"I..." Blossom whispers and tears fall from her cherry blossom eyes, "Buttercup what is going on?"

"WHERE THE FUCK IS NIKOLA?!" I yell loud enough that the whole complex might have heard me.

"Have you been keeping up with him? How old is he? Five?" My voice shakes as does Blossom.

"He's with the Professor. I don't keep in touch and you know why." She whispers, "Please what's wrong."

"Bubbles when was the last time you spoke to the Professor?"

"Not since he faked his death. Blossom asked me not to..." A sister's love knows no bounds.

"I don't know if he knows yet but he's been trying to talk to you Blossom." I ramble, "I don't know if he remembers what I said before I..."

I stop myself last minute.

" **Oh he heard alright."** It smiles cruelly and I try to ignore its delight.

"You... you told him? What do you mean if he remembers? Buttercup they are dead. Dead with no one to bring them back. You said..." Blossom tries to swallow her tears and fails, "You said that Butch figured out what was keeping HIM tied to our plane. You said if you...if you killed them then HIM would go away. Who could have saved them!"

Bubbles begins to cry too and I do everything in my power not to join them.

"The bodies Blossom, the fucking poses, they are for you. What was the last one? What was the last fucking body?!"

"You. She looked so much like you." She finally answers and I sigh in relief. Relaxing, maybe Brick doesn't remember what I said. Maybe they are still dead and it's all coincidence.

I feel delusional and paranoid.

' **Nothing new.'** Butch's voice fills my ears even as I grip onto my sisters tightly.

But it had to have been real. The scaring. I've never had this scarring before.

Blossom is right Butch did tell me the night before that HIM let slip that he needs the boys to live to be apart of our world. He gave them an offer that day, an offer they couldn't refuse. They would rule beneath HIM, he would spare us for their sake but we would be powerless.

All of humanity would have been enslaved and for what?

I feel his meaty heart in my mouth and I move my tongue over my cheeks and teeth.

The price I paid was high but worth it. For my sister's safety. For my nephew's safety.

 ** _KNOCK_** ** _KNOCK_** ** _KNOCK_**

Each rap at the door seizes me with new found fear and adrenaline. All I want to do is swallow a bottle of pills and a bottle of liquor in a few gulps. Not deal with whatever lies beyond that door. I think it in my head, like how this all started until I see the fear in my sisters eyes.

Their fear will always fuel my rage.

"Keep quiet." I growl so low they strain to hear me, "Hide."

They obey but not too far should I need back up.

I open the door slowly to be met with my worst nightmare all over again.

There he stands six foot four with glowing green eyes, a nasty grimace plastered on his face as he towers over me.

He cocks a devilish smile that turns my stomach with butterflies and worry.

"Hey Butterbabe," He purrs, "Did you think you could stand me up so easily?"

I slam the door in his face in response only for it to be kick from its hinges launching me and the door halfway across the apartment.

My sisters go to make a move and I look at this so briefly I worry they did not catch it.

But the must have as the obey, they do not move.

"Come on Booms. She's just where you left her huh?" Butch says as he tosses Boomer into my apartment. He lands in the living room, breaking my couch in half. He rubs his blonde hair oblivious to my sisters in the hall.

Bubbles stares with wide eyes, so many emotions dance in her sky eyes. I beg for them to leave for them to just fly the fuck away.

She parts her rose pink lips but before she speaks Boomer does.

"Butch why are you being this way?! So fucking hot and cold with her?!" Boomer sounds angry, "You get to have your counter part after you stole her from Deaths door only to leave her in our fucked in the head brother's hands. And for what?"

He stands between myself and Butch.

If Bubbles had any love for this stupid blue eyed man before me it was amplified in this moment.

"Revenge? An eye for an eye? How many times and ways did Brick kill her? More than your once that's for sure."

"Shut up." A warning that he ignores.

"Did you even know he was doing that? Did you care? You must've. You're not the type to fall in or out of love that easily. And if you feel any sort of magnetism toward your counter part like I do then how the fuck did you do it? Be so close to her, watch her suffer like that."

"I said Shut. Up."

"I'd really like to know. I know you were watching over her before you brought her back and I know you didn't like what you saw with nothing you could do about it with every shade darker of the antidote x stone you added to your ring and the pills you swallowed like candy."

Butch lunges without warning, slamming Boomer down to the floor. His massive hand grips onto his skull cracking audibly. I look to Bubbles who is biting her lower lip so hard its bleeding.

I will not let her watch Boomer die again. I lunge for Butch. Fighting him for dominance, he burns me with that damn black ring and I feel so nauseous but I need to protect them.

I will always fucking protect them. I'm the toughest fighter God damn it.

I flip him over pinning his hands beneath me and lean close to his face.

Even now, even after all that he has done. I could kiss him.

Why I think that of all things I cannot fathom it but Boomer is right and so was Butch all those fucking years ago.

Something will always draw the six of us together.

"Chill. Please." I'm gasping for air as our breath mingles. Butch stares up at me for a long moment before he frees one of his hands, tangles his fingers in my hair and crashes my lips to his.

So does he hate me or fucking what?

The question fades as I fall into the familiarity of his touch before I reluctantlly break the kiss. I stare at him, I want him badly but my sisters, their safety is priority and I do not know which Butch is underneath me today.

"We need your help." Boomer calls to me, "HIM is stuck in Brick. We need to find Blossom, we need to...we need something. He's been wrong since the Professor brought us back."


End file.
